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Abandoned: ᕿᒪᐃᓐᓇᐃᓂᖅ: Qimainnainiq: Abandon/abandonné

Where the owner of property gives up his or her rights of ownership, without transferring these rights to another, the property is said to be abandoned. For example, if a person throws something away, he or she abandons it, another person can take it and would not be stealing.

When a person is found guilty of an offence, he or she is usually said to be "convicted." A conviction is what goes onto a criminal record. In some cases where a person is found guilty of an offence, but it is in the best interests of the offender and it is not against the public interest, a court may grant the offender an absolute discharge. This means that the offender is not penalized in any way and does not have a record for a criminal conviction. A discharge may also be conditional. In such cases, the offender must fulfill a condition such as a period of probation or the payment of restitution, before the discharge becomes absolute. Criminal Code, 1996, section 730. See Conditional Discharge.

All criminal offences are proceeded with by indictment or by summary conviction. This division is one of more serious and less serious offences. Most offences which are proceeded with by indictment, namely the more serious offences, allow the accused person to have a jury trial if he or she wishes. There are a few indictable offences, listed in the Criminal Code, which occupy a middle ground. They are more serious than offences proceeded with summarily but not so serious that the law entitles the accused to a jury trial. These offences are called absolute jurisdiction offences, meaning that they are tried by a judge without a jury. Criminal Code, 1996, section 553.

A certificate from an institution of higher education showing that a person has fulfilled the requirements of a particular course of studies. Academic degrees are divided into undergraduate and graduate degrees, graduate degrees being higher degrees. Common undergraduate degrees are Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.). Common graduate degrees are Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D).

Acceptance: ᐊᖏᖃᑎᖃᕐᓂᖅ: Angiqatiqarniq: Acceptation

Acceptance is a concept of the law of contract. In order for a contract to be binding, or enforceable in a court, the court must be able to identify certain elements in a bargain. If I want to sell my boat, I might advertise it for $1,000. This is my offer. If you want my boat and state that you agree to pay me $1,000 that is acceptance. We now have a contract. See also Consideration, Offer.

In family law, rights of access are the rights enjoyed by a parent (or another important person, like a grandparent) who does not have custody of a child. A court may grant access rights, or parents may agree about when it will be possible to visit. The right of access may vary from supervised, scheduled visits to unrestricted access, where a parent can visit with his or her children any time or place that he or she wants. Courts always try to determine access rights in accordance with the best interests of the child. In real estate law, access rights is not a technical term. But it means the right to go across someone else's property in order to get at something valuable in which the person may have an interest. A person may (access rights) to get minerals buried under the land which belongs to someone else, or to get to some public facility like the waterfront or a road their property does not directly touch.

Accident: ᐱᔮᕆᓯᒪᙱᑦᑐᖅ: Pijaarisimanngittuq: Accident

In criminal law, accident may give an accused person a complete or a partial defence. An unintentional killing may be no crime at all, or it may be the less serious crime of manslaughter. Even an accidental killing, however, may be murder if the accused caused the death by an unlawful act or by negligence. A court would have to examine the circumstances of each case.

A person who is accused or charged with a criminal offence. Although persons accused of summary conviction, or less serious, offences are often referred to as accused, it is more correct to refer to such persons as defendants.

Except for absolute jurisdiction offences, where the accused cannot have a jury trial, and certain serious offences such as murder, where an accused normally must have a jury trial, an accused who is tried on indictment can choose the court in which he or she is tried. He or she may be tried by a Territorial Court judge without a jury, by a Supreme Court judge without a jury or by a Supreme Court judge with a jury. This choice is called the accused election.

A criminal offence consists of both a wrongful act and the intention to commit that act. The wrongful act is referred to by the Latin term actus reus. Committing a wrongful act, or actus reus, without the intention of doing so is not a criminal offence. For example, if I take your qamutiq believing it to be my own, I have not committed theft. See also Mens Rea.

Administrative Board: ᐊᐅᓚᑦᑎᔩᑦ ᑲᑎᒪᔨᖏᑦ: Aulattijiit katimajingit: Régie

A decision-making body created by an Act of Parliament or of the provincial or territorial Legislature to carry out the objectives of that Act in accordance with the rules created by that Act and the branch of the law known as administrative law. For example, the Northwest Territories Water Board, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board are administrative boards.

When a person dies without leaving a will, the court will appoint a person to represent the dead person's interests in dealing with their property. The court appointed person is called the administrator (if he is male) or the administratrix (if she is female) and, once appointed, can do the same things with the dead person's property as the executor of the will.

In order to make its decisions, a court relies upon evidence given by a person or persons who themselves witnessed (saw or heard) some part of the events being inquired into. There are many rules which determine whether or not a piece of evidence will be accepted by a court. Evidence which will be accepted as conforming to these rules is called admissible evidence. Evidence which does not conform to the rules will not be accepted and is termed inadmissible. See also Evidence; Witness.

Adoption: ᑎᒍᐊᕐᓂᖅ: tiguarniq: Adoption

The permanent assumption of parental responsibility and control over a child or adult who is not a natural child of the person or persons assuming the responsibility. Where the legal requirements are met, the law regards the person adopted and the person(s) adopting as related to each other in the same way as would be the case in a natural family. In Nunavut, there may be private and custom adoption. Private adoption is adoption where none of the parties are aboriginal. In such cases, the adoption is approved by a judge only after he or she is satisfied that the proposed adoption is a good one. He or she relies on affidavits from the parties who wish to adopt and the Superintendent of Child Welfare. Custom adoption is adoption according to Inuit tradition. Such adoptions are valid in Nunavut. See also Adult Adoption, Native Custom Adoption, Departmental Adoption.

Adult Adoption: ᐃᓐᓇᕐᒥᑦ ᑎᒍᐊᕐᓂᖅ: Innarmit tiguarniq: Adoption d'adultes

Part V of the Northwest Territories Child Welfare Act allows adults to be adopted in much the same way as children. In Inuit customary law also, adults can sometimes be adopted. An adult is a person who is 19 years of age or more. (In criminal law an adult is a person who is 18 years of age or more.)

Adultery: ᐊᓯᓐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖅ: Asinniarniq: Adultère

Sexual intercourse between two persons, at least one of whom is married to someone else. Adultery is a reason for a court to grant a divorce under the Canadian Divorce Act.

The Anglo-Canadian system of justice, in contrast to other European systems, is an adversarial system. Most court proceedings consist of one person against another or, in the criminal law, the Crown or the State against a person. Lawyers usually represent each person or the Crown and fight each other before a judge or a judge and jury according to a set of rules. The judge or the jury then decide the outcome. It is thought by those who admire this system that it is the most effective way at getting at the truth. Many admirers of other systems disagree. Other European systems, often termed inquisitorial systems, give a much greater role in the proceedings to the judge.

An administrative agency, or a part of a corporation or society, which has been created to provide advice to decision-makers. Advisory boards usually do not have any power to make decisions on their own, but may do research, or make recommendations.

Affect: ᐊᒃᑐᐊᓂᕆᔭᖅ: Aktuanirijaq: Situation émotive

The emotional condition of a person as understood by a medical practitioner or social worker. This word is usually seen in psychological and similar reports.

An affidavit is a statement, in writing, made under oath. Service refers to the act whereby a document is officially given to a participant in legal proceedings. An affidavit of service is the sworn, written statement of the person who gave the document to the participant that he or she did so. It is proof that the participant to the proceedings received the document.

A sexual assault in which the accused wounds, maims, disfigures or endangers the life of the victim. Criminal Code, 1996, section 273(1).

Alcohol Consumption: ᐃᒥᐊᓗᖕᓂᖅ: Imialungniq: Consommation d'alcool

Drinking alcohol. The amount of alcohol consumed will determine whether a driver of a motor vehicle is guilty of impaired driving. Alcohol consumption can be an important issue in many criminal cases since it can have an effect on the intention of a person to commit a crime.

Alibi: ᐱᕋᔭᒡᕕᐅᔪᒦᓚᐅᙱᓐᓂᕋᕐᓂᖅ: Pirajagviujumiilaunnginnirarniq: Alibi

The defence in criminal law that the accused was somewhere else when the crime took place. For example, "I could not have committed the assault at the Legion in Iqaluit because, at the time, I was in Rankin Inlet. Therefore, I have an alibi and should be found not guilty."

An order issued by a peace officer that a person attend court at a certain time and place. An appearance notice is used by a peace officer to compel a person to attend court when the circumstances of the alleged offence are such that the peace officer does not have the legal power to arrest the person. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 493, 496, Form 9.

Applicant: ᑐᒃᓯᕋᖅᑎ: Tuksiraqti: Requérant

In court proceedings, the party asking the court for a ruling or decision.

A process for resolving disputes out of court whereby facts and arguments are advanced by the parties to be settled conclusively by a decision-maker, called an arbitrator, who is independent of the parties. Abritrations are very common in labour relations and corporate business dealings.

Where a law provides for a list of people, usually with specialized knowledge, who are available to be arbitrators. They will be charged with responsibility for making decisions about disputes that emerge in relation to matters governed by that law. Not all the members of the Board will decide each dispute. For example, the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement provides for an arbitration board of nine people to decide land-claim related matters. Typically, one or three arbitrators may decide specific matters.

A person, not a judge, who will make decisions of fact that are based on argument when two or more parties cannot agree about an issue.

Area Of Expertise: ᖃᐅᔨᒪᔪᒻᒪᕆᐅᕝᕕᒃ: Qaujimajummariuvvik: Sphère de compétence [champ de ...]

Generally a witness in a court proceeding is not allowed to give evidence of his or her opinions. An exception to this rule is made where the court needs the assistance of an expert. The expert is allowed to give evidence of his or her opinion, but only in his or her area of expertise. See Opinion Evidence.

Assignment is the transfer to a stranger (non-party) of contractual rights so that the stranger gets the right to enjoy benefit of the contract, or to sue for non-performance, in the place of an original party to the contract. So, for example, a creditor could assign her right to collect a debt to a collection agency.

Attempted Murder: ᐃᓄᐊᕆᐊᕐᓂᖅ: Inuariarniq: Tentative de meurtre

The unsuccessful act of deliberately trying to kill a person. A serious crime, punishable by life imprisonment. Criminal Code, 1996, section 239.

When a young person (under 18 years) is sentenced to custody for a period of one year or more, the law requires that the young person be brought back to the Youth Court so that the Youth Court judge can review the sentence and reduce it if appropriate. Young Offenders Act, 1996, section 28.

For a court to find that a person has committed a crime, it is essential that the wrongful act was committed voluntarily. It happens at times that, for various reasons, a wrongful act is committed involuntarily. Thus a man might kill another while sleepwalking. He is said to have acted in an automatic state and the defence of automatism is available to him.

Autopsy: ᑐᖁᖓᔫᑉ ᖃᐅᔨᓴᖅᑕᐅᓂᖓ: Tuqungajuup qaujisaqtauninga: Autopsie

The examination by specialized medical practitioners of a dead body to ascertain the cause of death.

The standard of proof in non-criminal matters. It is to be compared to the standard of proof in criminal matters, proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Proof on a balance of probabilities means proving that something is more probable than not. It is a much lower standard of proof than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, where the court must be sure that the accused committed the crime with which he or she is charged.

A court order that prohibits the publication of evidence or the names of individuals. Commonly used to protect the identity of victims in sexual cases. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 486, 517, 539, 648. Young Offenders Act, 1996, sections 17, 38.

A religious alternative to a marriage licence which is recognized by territorial law. A couple wishing to get married may have the clergy-member who will marry them read out their names and intention to marry to the congregation for at least two Sundays in a row. Anyone who knows a reason why they should not be married (already married, too closely related) has an obligation to let that fact be known. Marriage Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. M-4.

It is well known that the prosecution, to succeed, must prove its accusation beyond a reasonable doubt. It is part of this rule, that if there is a doubt, the benefit of the doubt must be given to the accused. See Reasonable Doubt.

To be in favour of one side over the other in a dispute, but for reasons which are personal or in some other way irrelevant to the merits of the dispute. The judge said he preferred the evidence of the policeman to that of the mother because he felt the mother could not help but be biased in favour of her son, the accused.

Birth Certificate: ᐃᓅᔪᖅᓯᐅᑎ: Inuujuqsiuti: Extrait de naissance

A certificate issued by a government agency which proves that the person named on the certificate was born at a certain place, at a certain time and of certain parents. Possession of a birth certificate is a necessary first step to obtaining other documents such as passports.

Blameworthy: ᐱᑎᑦᑎᔪᖅ: Pitittijuq: Blâmable

A blameworthy act is an act which is in some way wrong and deserving of blame.

Blood Sample: ᐊᐅᖏᖅᑕᐅᓂᖅ: Aungiqtauniq: Échantillon de sang

A small amount of a person's blood. Sometimes the police are allowed to demand such samples, for example, in impaired driving cases where the accused cannot give a breath sample.

Where a person is seriously assaulted or killed in a way that results in blood being spilt, the spilled blood will form certain patterns which can show how the victim was hit, and with what. This is important information for crime investigators. Those who have made a study of this are referred to as blood spatter specialists.

Board: ᑲᑎᒪᔩᑦ: Katimajiit: Conseil/régie/tribunal

A decision-making or advisory group usually responsible for operating a public service; a school board or the Baffin Regional Health and Social Services Board, for example.

A term in corporate law which refers to a group of people who have been selected to exercise control over a corporation by making important decisions.

"He breached his undertaking" is simply the use of the word as a verb rather than a noun. Police and prosecutors tend to use the verb in another way: "He was breached on his undertaking;" meaning he was charged with a breach of undertaking.

There are two offences of breach of trust in the Criminal Code. These are the offences of breach of trust by a public officer and criminal breach of trust, Criminal Code, 1996, sections 122 & 336. The term is more often used in the sentencing of certain kinds of offenders, when it is considered to make an offence more serious. Theft from a store by anyone is a crime, but theft from that store by one of the employees of the store is a breach of trust and the sentence will usually be more severe.

Undertakings and recognizances are methods whereby a person in custody can be released until the trial date. Both methods will state when the person has to go to court and can involve other conditions such as the payment of money, which can be forfeited for non-compliance, and other conditions such as not talking to witnesses. A breach of one of these arrangements is a criminal offence and can lead to the person being kept in custody until the trial date. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 493, 499, 503, 679, 816, 817, 832, 834.

An offence in the Criminal Code. It involves the unauthorized entry of a building (nothing has to be broken) by a person intending to commit an offence in the building theft, for example. This is the charge used when there is no theft or other offence committed, perhaps because the person is caught before he or she can steal anything. Criminal Code, 1996, section 348(1)(a).

This is a test which measures the proportion of alcohol in a person's blood. By law, a person can only have a certain amount of alcohol in the blood if he or she is operating a motor vehicle. The police can make that person take the breathalyzer test if they believe the person has a higher proportion of alcohol in the blood than the law permits. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 253-258.

Originally a law of England's Parliament, the British North America Act of 1867 provided the constitutional basis for the government of Canada after Confederation. Among other matters, it sets out the role of the courts and the relationship between the federal parliament and the provincial legislatures. It is now referred to as the Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C., 1985, App.II, No. 5.

By-Law: ᒪᓕᒐᕋᓛᑦ: Maligaralaat: Règlement

Rules which are passed by an organization or public body other than a legislature. There are two main used for the term.

By-laws are passed by municipal government (e.g., hamlets, towns, cities) who get their power from a legislature. By-laws regulate many aspects of life for all citizens inside the municipality (e.g., taxi licencing, land use).

By-laws are the internal rules of a corporation. They regulate questions like who can vote for the corporation's directors, what kinds of shares will be sold, and so on.

One of a few social programs in Canada that provide for income for older people, or for people with disabilities that prevent them from working. Every employee and their employer is required to contribute to the plan a portion of their salary. When they turn sixty-five and stop working, and in certain other circumstances, people who have paid into the plan receive a monthly pension that reflects the amount of time they worked. R.S.C., 1985, c. C-8.

The Canadian law that is supposed to promote equality for Canadians by prohibiting discrimination against individuals on the grounds of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, marital status, disability or conviction for a criminal offence after a person has been pardoned. the Act describes what kinds of discrimination are illegal and establishes an administrative agency, called the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The commission hears complaints from individuals, provides public information, and advises the government about human rights. R.S.C., 1985, c. H-6.

An administrative agency created by Canadian law to regulate broadcasting and other telecommunication matters, including radio, TV and cable licencing and setting phone rates. The CRTC was originally created to ensure that broadcasting in Canada helped strengthen the cultural, social, political and economic fabric of the country by guaranteeing Canadian content and balanced programming. R.S.C., 1985, c. C-22, and Broadcasting Act, National Transportation Act, and other laws.

Law based on precedent or the build-up of decisions in individual cases with similar facts rather than being strictly based on statute or code. However, case law can be useful for interpreting statutes or the written constitution, as different judges consider what the words in a statute have meant in different situations. See Common Law.

A term often used by social workers to describe in detail a plan for the improvement of the situation of a neglected child, or by a probation or parole officer to describe a plan for the early release of a prisoner. The case plan is expected to address the problems that lead to trouble in the first place.

Cause Of Death: ᑐᖁᔾᔪᑕᐅᔪᖅ: tuqujjutaujuq: Cause de la mort

The reason a person died.

Ceremony: ᑲᑎᑎᑕᐅᓂᖅ: katititauniq: Cérémonie

A formal, often elaborate, proceeding to celebrate a special event. A religious service is often referred to as a ceremony. In the legal world, a typical ceremony might be the swearing in of a new judge or the opening of a new courthouse.

The Latin name, which is still used, for the administrative law remedy where a decision of a public agency or official is "quashed" or set aside by a court because the original decision-maker acted unfairly or outside the powers granted to it by statute.

When a jury is being selected, the prosecutor and the defence may object to the selection of a particular juror because the juror is not qualified to serve for one or more of a number of reasons set out in the Criminal Code. Some of these reasons are that the juror is not a Canadian citizen, or has been sentenced in the past to more than twelve months in jail, or is going to be biased against the Crown or the accused. Any number of such challenges may be made. Criminal Code, 1996, section 638. See also Peremptory Challenge.

The list of people from among whom a jury will be selected is called an array. If the Crown or the accused, prior to a jury trial, believe that the court officer responsible for putting together the list deliberately chose the people in a biased or prejudiced way, or did something fraudulent in making the list, the whole list, or array, can be challenged. Criminal Code, 1996, section 629.

Chambers: ᐃᖅᑲᖅᑐᐃᕝᕕᒃ: iqqaqtiuivvik: [En] chambre (Can.)/cabinet (Fr.)

An old-fashioned word meaning rooms. It is still used to refer to a judge's office. Much legal business that does not have to be done while a court is in session is done in a judge's office; this is said to be done "in chambers." In practice, this kind of legal work is done in the courtroom where there is more space, but it is still referred to as chambers.

Territorial legislation that sets out the procedures to be followed by those who wish to change their names and have their new names registered as being their true names. There are many reasons for people to change their names. In the Eastern Arctic, many applications are made under the Change of Name Act because so many people were registered incorrectly and because, in earlier days, officials often wrote down Inuit names without any standard spelling system to guide them. Thus, in official documents, the spellings in Roman orthography are often offensive.

At some point in every criminal proceeding, an accused person is asked for his or her plea. He or she is usually expected to answer "guilty" or "not guilty." This is his or her plea. It happens frequently that an accused who has pleaded "not guilty" asks to change his or her plea to "guilty." This is easily done. It happens less frequently that a person who has pleaded "guilty" asks to change his or her plea to "not guilty"; it is more difficult to persuade the court that this kind of change of plea should be allowed. See also Plea.

As a general rule, a trial takes place where the offence is alleged to have occurred. In the Northwest Territories, it has been the practice for many years for jury trials to take place in the community where the offence has been said to have happened. The place where the trial takes place is the venue of the trial. Occasionally, either the accused or Crown counsel apply to the court for the trial to take place in a different community for various reasons. The judge considers this change of venue application and may change the venue if it is in the interests of justice.

Charge: ᐸᓯᔭᐅᔾᔪᑎ: pasijaujjuti: Accusation

Another word, equivalent to information, allegation, accusation, that refers to the offence that an accused is said to have committed, and which the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

A jury consists of twelve ordinary citizens who are not expected to know the law. The presiding judge in a jury trial often tells the jury that it and the judge are a team, the jury being responsible for deciding what evidence to accept and the judge being responsible for telling the jury about those parts of the law it needs to know in the case it is judging. That part of the trial in which the judge tells the jury about the law is called the charge to the jury. It always takes place after all the evidence has been heard and after the lawyers have made their final speeches to the jury. When jury decisions are appealed to a higher court, it is usually on the grounds that the judge made a mistake about the law during the charge to the jury.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been part of the Canadian Constitution, the highest law in the country, since 1983. In addition to guaranteeing everyone in Canada certain fundamental democratic rights such as freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of the press, and the right not to be discriminated against, the Charter lists a number of rights which are of the greatest importance where a person is accused of committing a criminal offence. The rights that are protected in this way include the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure, the right not to be imprisoned without good reason, the right to legal advice upon arrest and a number of other rights. The Charter gives a court power to exclude evidence if it is obtained in a way that breaches an accused's rights, or to give some other remedy such as financial compensation or a judicial stay of proceedings. The full text of the Charter is to be found in most editions of the Criminal Code.

A child in need of protection is defined in the Child Welfare Act. Neglect or abuse of a child may cause the Superintendent of Child Welfare to take the child away from its home and place it in a foster home.

Also known as maintenance. Both parents, whether or not they have custody of the child, are responsible for contributing financially to the cost of bringing up the child. Most of the cost almost always falls on the parent who has day-to-day care and control. However, the other parent is required by law to pay money to support the children until they have ceased to be dependent (usually at 18 years). Judges are not supposed to allow a divorce to proceed unless there has been adequate provision for the children of the marriage.

The territorial law which requires and allows the government to get involved in families in order to ensure that children are not at risk of extreme neglect or abuse. The Act gives the Superintendent of Child Welfare, and social workers who report to the Superintendent, power to order home care and permanent and temporary removal of children from homes where they may be at risk. The law also deals with the adoption of children where the adoption is not governed by aboriginal customary traditions or law. R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. C-6.

When the Crown, in a criminal case, wants to prove that with which the accused is charged, it usually tries to do so by calling evidence from the person or persons who actually witnessed the alleged offence. This is called direct evidence. However, it is not always possible to prove the alleged offence by direct evidence because it was not witnessed by anyone. It may still be possible to prove the offence by providing evidence of a number of other circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence. When all the circumstances are looked at it, may be that the judge or the jury will conclude that there is only one reasonable conclusion to come to, and that is that the accused committed the offence. A case that depended on circumstantial evidence was the O.J. Simpson case. The prosecution was unable to produce any witnesses who saw the murders and tried to prove its case by evidence of blood stains, the behaviour of the accused at the time, etc. Circumstantial evidence may be used in non-criminal, or civil, cases also.

A special court with the single purpose of taking an oath of allegiance from qualified immigrants and pronouncing them Canadian citizens. Although ordinary judges can do this, many citizenship court judges are not lawyers but are appointed specially to perform this simple but important function.

General names for non-criminal court cases. Civil action or suits include disputes over contracts and property, suing people for negligence, as well as administrative, family and constitutional law questions.

Private law: the rules that govern relationships between individuals or groups of individuals (as opposed to public law, the rules that govern disputes where the government is on one side of the dispute, as it is in criminal law cases). Includes contract, tort, property and corporate law.

The system of law used in most of Europe, and in Quebec, to govern private disputes. Any legal issues or disputes are resolved by referring to a comprehensive or complete "code" (a book of rules) which is supposed to include all the law. Judges are obliged to obey the code, and do not necessarily have to do the same thing as another judge in a similar case. It is contrasted with case law or common law.

Claimant: ᑕᐃᒪᐃᓐᓂᕋᐃᔪᖅ: taimainniraijuq: Demandeur/réclamant

The name of the person in a civil case who has gone to court to ask for some kind of assistance or relief. That person may also be called the plaintiff. A person who is brought to court by the complainant is called a respondent or a defendant. A person can also be a claimant outside a court, where they are asking for a promise made to them under a contract to be fulfilled.

In criminal law, a court may order an assessment by a medical practitioner of the mental condition of an accused, to assist the court in determining whether the accused is unfit to stand to trial, or was suffering from a mental disorder so as to be exempt from criminal responsibility. Clinical assessment may be helpful to a court in other kinds of proceedings also, such as where the court has to consider whether a child should be taken from its parent(s) under the Child Welfare Act. Criminal Code, 1976, Part XX.I.

These refer to the speeches made by the lawyers to the jury after all the evidence has been heard. Closing submissions generally consist of the theories of the two sides to the case, together with references to the evidence that supports the theories.

Where a person has a will, and wants to add to or change some part of it, that person may do so by writing down the changes and adding the new document to the will. This document is called a codicil. The codicil must be signed and witnessed in the same manner as a will.

Codified: ᓇᓗᓇᐃᒃᑯᓯᖅᑕᐅᓯᒪᔪᖅ: nalunaikkusiqtausimajuq: Codifié(e)

A term that describes the process by which all the law in a certain area (e.g., criminal law, civil law in Quebec) is collected and compiled into a single authoritative text that governs all aspects of law in that area. So, for example, the Criminal Code of Canada governs all aspects of criminal law in Canada, and The Sale of Goods Act is a complete guide to buying and selling everything but real estate in Canada.

Medicine, like law, is a self-governing profession. The College of Physicians and Surgeons in each province regulates the practice of medicine in establishing standards and professional examinations, and in reviewing the professional conduct of medical doctors when called upon to do so. The College can take the ultimate step, when it feels this is necessary, of preventing a person from practising medicine.

A type of administrative agency which is responsible for regulating some area of public concern. Commissions may have a wide range of powers, including inspection, licensing, conducting investigations, making rules, or carrying out any other duties.

In all those cases where a person accused of a criminal offence has the choice of having a trial in the Supreme Court, that person is entitled first to have a preliminary inquiry in the Territorial Court. This is a hearing similar to a trial. The main purpose of this inquiry is not to judge guilt or innocence but to decide whether there is sufficient evidence against the accused person to justify putting the matter before a jury or a Supreme Court judge to decide whether the accused is guilty or not guilty. If it is decided that there is sufficient evidence, the accused is committed to stand trial.

The system of law that governs private disputes in Canada outside of Quebec. Common law emerges over time as the courts decide many cases with similar facts, and develop a body of principles that link their decisions in similar cases. Judges make common law, not Parliament or legislatures, so we say common law relies on precedent rather than codified law or particular statute. Sometimes called case law, or referred to as unwritten law, or judge-made law. See also Case Law, Precedent.

A marriage between two people (for most legal purposes, a man and a woman) which has not been formalized with a government or church ceremony. A relationship between two people is for many purposes (e.g., taxes) considered a common-law marriage after 12 continuous months of living together or when the people living together become natural or adoptive parents of a child.

In the law of contract, one of the parties to the agreement makes an offer. The other party to the agreement then accepts the offer. For the agreement to be binding, this acceptance must be communicated to the party making the offer. See Acceptance.

In criminal law, a judge may order a person found guilty of an offence to perform a set amount of community service. This is unpaid work. It is a form of restitution to the community to compensate for the harm done by the offence. Community service has, of course, the ordinary meaning of voluntary work done by a person for the welfare of the community.

The payment, usually of money, to a person who has suffered an injury or a loss. This might be paid by the person or organization which caused the loss, or it might be paid out of a special fund, such as in the case of the Workers' Compensation Board. See Compensation Board, Damages.

A type of administrative agency that is supposed to make a decision about what would be fair compensation to a person who has been injured in some way. Usually compensation boards act in the place of courts. A very important difference between compensation boards and courts is that usually compensation boards act on the no-fault principle, which means a person who has been injured is not required to collect their money from a wrong-doer. Instead, he or she will be compensated from specially collected public funds. For example, the Workers' Compensation Board collects money from all employers to provide compensation to people injured at work, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board is supposed to help victims of crime with money raised from a surcharge.

Complainant: ᐃᖅᑲᖅᑐᖅᑕᐅᑎᑦᓯᔪᖅ: iqqaqtuqtautitsijuq: Plaignant(e)

The person who makes a complaint. In criminal law, the person who says that a crime has been committed.

At the same time. If a person is convicted of two or more offences and is jailed for both or all of them, the sentences run either concurrently or consecutively. Thus, a person sentenced to one month for one offence and one month for another offence to be served concurrently will only serve one month in total. See Consecutively.

Condition: ᖃᓄᐃᓕᖓᓂᖅ: qanuilinganiq: Condition

Something that has to be done before something else will occur. Or, a judge might allow a person who has been arrested to remain free before trial on conditions such as: keep the peace and be of good behaviour, report to the police at certain times, etc.I will lend you my snowmobile on condition you repair it.

A conditional discharge is the same as an absolute discharge except that before the discharge becomes effective, the person to whom it is granted must comply with one or more conditions (e.g., perform 20 hours of community service work). Criminal Code, 1996, section 730. See Absolute Discharge, Discharge.

Where certain facts are known, an inference is a conclusion that it is reasonable and logical to come to, even though there is no direct evidence of that conclusion. For example, it is proved that a person was in a dwelling house and that the people of that house did not know the person. The person gave no explanation for his or her presence there. It is a reasonable inference that the person was there for an unlawful purpose. If different inferences are possible from the same set of facts and these conflict, they are conflicting inferences. For example, if it is added to the above set of facts that the person is mentally deficient, it would be an equally valid inference that the person did not know what he or she was doing in the house. In criminal law, in these circumstances, one would expect the benefit of the doubt principle to allow the innocent explanation to prevail.

As opposed to concurrently. One after the other, not at the same time. For example, a person sentenced to two terms of imprisonment of one month each to be served consecutively would serve a total of two months. See Concurrently.

Consent: ᖃᓄᐃᒃᓴᙱᓐᓂᖅ: qanuiksannginniq: Consentement

Agreement. For example, an accused charged with sexual assault might say that he or she did have sexual relations with the complainant but says that it was with the consent of the complainant—that the Complainant agreed to the activity in question.

Contract law distinguishes between promises that can be enforced and promises that were never meant to be taken seriously. Promises that can be enforced, or contracts, are supposed to have been bargained for by the exchange of "something of value" between the two parties. Consideration is the thing of value that must be exchanged: it can be money, or a valuable promise for the future, or some act or object with no intrinsic value except to symbolize the bargain.

The act whereby two or more persons confer secretly to do something unlawful or immoral. Criminal Code, 1996, section 465.

Constitution: ᐱᖁᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ: piqujarjuaq: Constitution

The supreme law of a country, that sets out the framework for government within a country. It says what different institutions of government (courts, legislatures, and executives) may or may not do, by defining the relationships between these institutions and also between individuals and the government. It is called the supreme law because all other laws and actions by government must obey constitutional law or principle. A constitution is not necessarily a written document—the United States has a written constitution, but England has an unwritten constitution that has developed over many years, and Canada has a combination of the two. See Constitution Act, 1982. R.S.C., 1985, App.II, No. 44.

The body of law, including the written constitution and court judgments which interpret it, which sets the limits on allowable government actions by judging whether or not laws or actions obey the constitution, or supreme law of the country. Just as regular laws say what people can and cannot do, the constitutional law says what governments can and cannot do.

The act of embarrassing a court by showing serious disrespect to that court or refusing to comply with an order of the court. Refusing to attend court when required to do so, refusing to answer questions, certain kinds of behaviour in court; all of these can be contempt of court.

Contend: ᐊᑭᕋᖅᑐᕐᓂᖅ: akiraqturniq: Disputer/contester

To argue for a certain position. For example, "The Crown contended (or, it was the Crown's contention) that the delays in the case were the fault of the Defence."

An agreement between two or more persons which those persons intend should have the force of law, and with respect to the breach of which a court will give a remedy. A contract, therefore, is a law that the parties make for themselves. People enter into contracts all the time; for example, when buying groceries, or taking a taxi, or selling a boat, etc.

A defence to an action in negligence. When the person suing for damages acts in a way that shows he or she was not taking proper care of his or her own safety. Until recently, if a defendant could prove the plaintiff contributorily negligent, they had no obligation to pay any damages, no matter what their own wrongdoing. This common law rule has been changed by legislation so that, now, judges can divide the responsibility between the parties and allow even a wrongdoing plaintiff some recovery.

An order dealing with an issue related to, but not the same as, the main issue in a proceeding. Usually, this term appears in the context of divorce law. At the same time as a judge grants a divorce, he or she may make a corollary relief order which deals with division of property, custody of the children, and/or maintenance issues.

Coroner: ᑐᖁᔪᓕᕆᔨ: tuqujuliriji: Coroner

A public official with the responsibility of inquiring into and determining the cause of death where there appear to be suspicious or unnatural circumstances. A list of the kind of deaths that must be reported to the coroner and into which he or she must inquire is provided in the Coroners Act.

An inquiry, presided over by a Coroner, in which evidence is heard, before a jury of six people, to identify the deceased or determine the circumstances of the death, to inform the public of the circumstances of the death where it will serve some public purpose, to bring dangerous practices or conditions to the knowledge of the public and facilitate the making of recommendations to avoid preventable deaths, or to inform the public as to dangerous practices in order to avoid preventable deaths.

Defined narrowly, corporate law is the set of rules (statute and common law) that govern the establishment and control of corporations. Corporations are legal entities that have many of the rights in law of real people—the right to sue and be sued, to enter into contracts, etc. They are usually formed by individuals for profit. Sometimes, corporate law is defined more broadly to include a wide range of law that governs large-scale financial transactions.

Costs: ᐊᑮᑦ: akiit: Frais

In a civil action, a part of the judgment is an award of costs. The loser of a case will usually be responsible for paying not only damages but some or all of the money that the other side spent to win the case, including lawyers' fees.

The Canadian court system recognizes that judges can make mistakes. Therefore, the decision of a judge can usually be reviewed by a higher court. In the Northwest Territories, the highest appeal court is the Court of Appeal of the Northwest Territories. Usually, three judges sit on the Court of Appeal. The next highest court is the Supreme Court of Canada.

When a question or a dispute is brought before a court, the parties who bring that question or dispute to the court expect the court to decide who is right, if one of them is. By going to court, the parties are agreeing that they will comply with what the court decides. This is the order of the court, and the parties must follow it.

A court order that says who is to be the person who has principal responsibility for a child. See Custody.

Credibility: ᓱᓕᔪᕆᔭᐅᔪᓐᓇᕐᓂᖅ: sulijurijaujunnarniq: Crédibilité

The believability of a witness or of a piece of evidence. In a trial, a court frequently hears conflicting evidence. The judge or the jury has to decide what evidence, if any, it considers to be reliable. The court has to assess credibility. It is important to understand that a court, in saying that it does not find a piece of evidence to be credible, is not necessarily saying that it thinks the witness from whom the evidence came is lying. The witness may be lying, but equally, an honest witness may be mistaken.

A major piece of federal legislation in which are listed nearly all the criminal offences existing in Canada. There are few criminal offences apart from those found in the Criminal Code. Some other federal statutes, such as the Narcotics Control Act, create criminal offences. Criminal Code, 1996, section 9. The Code also contains the rules of criminal procedure.

Criminal Code, 1996, section 219, defines criminal negligence as follows: Everyone is criminally negligent who (a) in doing anything, or (b) in omitting to do anything that it is his or her duty to do, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons.

A record maintained by courts and the police of the criminal convictions entered against a person. Frequently, a witness, including the accused if he or she gives evidence, will be faced with his or her criminal record. The judge or the jury is allowed to consider the criminal record of a witness in deciding whether that witness should be believed. In addition, where an accused person is convicted of an offence, the court that sentences the person may consider his or her criminal record.

This is the questioning of a witness by the lawyer for the opposing side. The object of cross-examination is to obtain admissions from the witness favourable to the side the lawyer is representing. Cross-examination is to be compared to direct examination, which is the questioning of a witness by the lawyer representing that witness's side. Different rules apply to the two forms of examination.

As a rule, lawyers are not allowed to cross-examine their own witnesses. This is because the court expects that the lawyer calling a witness has already evaluated the evidence of that witness and has decided that it is probably reliable. (Of course, the court makes the final decision as to the reliability of evidence.) However, it sometimes happens that a witness surprises the lawyer by giving evidence contrary to what was expected. In such circumstances, the court may give the lawyer permission to cross-examine his or her own witness.

In a jury trial, the lawyers are allowed to tell the jury, before the jury hears the witnesses called by them, what they expect their witnesses to say. The Crown always calls evidence first. The Crown's opening submissions provide an outline to the jury of what the Crown hopes to prove through the witnesses and help the jury to follow the evidence.

The criminal law divides homicide into culpable and not culpable. Where homicide is not culpable, it is not an offence. For example, it is not a crime to kill another person where this is done in self-defence. Culpable homicide is a criminal offence. It may be murder, or manslaughter, or infanticide. Criminal Code, 1996, section 222. See Homicide.

The legal right to be involved in important decisions about the life of a dependent person, usually a child. In general, custody also involves day-to-day care and control of a child. Custody is most often a source of conflict after the breakdown of a relationship involving children; where there is no agreement, or after a divorce, judges will order that one or both parents will have custody rights.

The care and control of a thing. For example, where evidence such as weapons or drugs are kept in the custody of the Police.

The Common Law is the judge-made law that applies to the whole society in common. In early England, where the common law developed as the rulers extended their control over the whole country, local customs gave way to the common law. Exceptions, particularly with respect to land law, occurred in some areas. These local customs were recognized as valid by the new rulers. As the common law spread in the countries which now constitute the British Commonwealth and encountered very different societies, many areas of Private Law, such as land and inheritance law, were left to be administered by the customary courts of the particular society. An example of customary law in Nunavut is custom adoption. See Adoption.

A marriage established according to the customary practice of the people of the married couple. Such a marriage would not have been established according to modern legal requirements but could, nevertheless, be acknowledged by the courts to be valid. This is because the common law has a long tradition of recognizing as legally valid many of the customs of people to whom the common law is new. See Customary Law.

D

Damages: ᐊᑭᓕᐅᑕᐅᖁᔭᐅᔪᑦ: akiliutauqujaujut: Dommages-intérêts

An estimation of the money required to make up for a loss. The payment of damages is supposed to put someone in the same position they would have been in if the loss had not happened. Damages come in different categories.

Consequential Damages: Damages which could be predicted as possibly happening because of the loss. Consequential damages to a power failure might include the loss of meat in freezers.

Economic Damages: Damages to compensate for lost profit or business losses. Economic damages for a destroyed carving would include the profit which could be made if the carving had been sold.

General Damages: Damages for losses which normally are not counted in money, such as pain and suffering, loss of life, emotional trauma, and physical scarring.

Liquidated Damages: Damages in an amount agreed upon in advance, even before the damage occurred. A deposit made on a purchase is normally the liquidated damages in case the sale does not go through.

Nominal Damages: Damages in name only: for example, not doing something you agreed to do, but which really didn't cause any harm. Usually one dollar ($1).

Pecuniary Damages: Money paid out or lost directly as a result of the loss or incident. These include items such as lost income, the cost of repairs, trips to the doctor, or replacing destroyed equipment.

Punitive or Exemplary Damages: Damages more than the value of the injury suffered, but which are an extra punishment or warning to the wrong: doer against profiting from his or her error or mistake. These damages are rarely awarded in Canadian law.

Where a person has contributed to the Canada Pension Plan, but dies before they have reached the age of 65, their estate is paid a death benefit on a onetime basis, since the person cannot receive the pension to which he or she would have been entitled. Canada Pension Plan, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-8.

A decision of a court as to who is the father of a child, where this has been called into question.

Defamation: ᓴᒡᓗᔾᔪᑎᖃᕐᓂᖅ: saglujjutiqarniq: Diffamation

A statement made publicly, whether written or spoken, in which A attacks the good name of B in a way that tends to harm the reputation of B. Defamation is a tort, or civil wrong, and B may recover damages from A. When defamation is written, it is libel; when it is spoken, it is slander.

When someone requests a divorce by the court, he or she is required to ensure that the person he or she wishes to divorce obtains a copy of the papers of the proceeding so that a reply can be made by that person. There are time periods allowed for this. If no reply is made within the time allowed, the court can go ahead and grant the divorce by default. The person asking for a divorce is called the petitioner; the other party is called the respondent.

See Default Divorce. In all legal proceedings, the rules of court will provide for each side to supply to the other side copies of the documents that are relevant to the case and which have been filed with the court. Time periods are allowed for each side to answer the other. If the party against whom the case is brought, usually called the defendant, does not wish, or cannot be bothered, to defend the case, the court will go ahead and make its judgment without input from the defendant. This is a default judgment.

In criminal law, where a person convicted of a crime is sentenced to pay a fine, and he or she does not, he or she can be imprisoned instead for a fixed period. Criminal Code, 1996, section 734.

Defence: ᓴᐳᔾᔭᐅᔾᔪᑎ: sapujjaujuti: Défense

In criminal law, the legal response of an accused to the allegation by the Crown that he or she committed a criminal offence. There are many defences, and the law is open to considering new ones. The basic contention (see Contend) of any defence is that the Crown has not proven its accusation beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore that the accused should be found not guilty. In civil law, the legal response of a defendant that he or she is not liable (see Liability) in the way alleged by the plaintiff.

Defence Case: ᓴᐳᔾᔭᐅᔾᔪᑎᖓ: sapujjaujjutinga: La cause de la défense

The evidence called by and the legal arguments made on the part of the defence, in a criminal or civil trial. The defence makes its case after the Crown in a criminal trial or after the plaintiff in a civil trial.

In a jury trial, the jury has to follow the law as the judge explains it. The judge will always explain to the jury what defences it may consider in the case. As a rule, there must be some evidence in the case giving rise to a defence. For example, the defence of self-defence would not be available to an accused in a murder case unless there was some evidence that the accused did what he did to protect himself from the deceased.

To consider, to think about what to do; e.g., the jury went out to deliberate.

Intentional; e.g. the breaking of the window was not an accident, it was deliberate.

Murder is first degree murder or second degree murder. Murder is first degree murder when is planned and deliberate.

Demeanour: ᐃᓕᖅᑯᓯᖓ: iliqqusinga: Comportement

The outward appearance and behaviour of a person. In deciding what they think of the evidence of a witness, judges and juries consider the witness's demeanour. Does the witness appear to be forthright and honest? Did the witness try to answer the questions without trying to change the subject? etc.

Under the Child Welfare Act, where a child has been taken by the Superintendent of Child Welfare (Social Services) and is not returned to the parents in the course of time, the Act allows the Superintendent to arrange for the child to be adopted.

Territorial legislation which ensures that at least some of the wealth of a person who has died goes to his or her dependents, even if he or she left a will leaving them nothing. Application must be made by the dependent(s) to a judge of the Supreme Court. Dependents' Relief Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. D-4.

Depression: ᓂᑲᓪᓗᖓᓂᖅ: nikallunganiq: Dépression (méd.)

A condition characterized by hopelessness and sadness. Depression ranges widely in its seriousness, from the "blues" most people feel at times to serious illness.

A person is said to have diminished capacity where his or her ability to think and behave rationally and clearly has been reduced by age or illness. If a person's capacity is sufficiently diminished, the courts will not accept as valid his or her signature to a will or other legal document.

Also called examination in chief. This is the questioning by a lawyer of a witness he or she has called in support of his or her case. Compare to cross-examination. Although many of the rules concerning the proper way of conducting direct examination and cross-examination are the same, some important ones are different. In direct examination, the lawyer is supposed to ask questions in such a way that the answer is not suggested to the witness. In contrast, in cross-examination, it is quite correct to make suggestions to a witness.

To release a person from an obligation or a situation. The accused was discharged following his acquittal by the jury. The patient was discharged from hospital.See Absolute Discharge, Conditional Discharge.

The provision of information, usually of a confidential nature, from one party to another. Commonly used in criminal law to mean the provision of details of the Crown's case to the defence. Usually it consists of copies of statements of witnesses and the accused given to the police. In recent years, the courts have said that the Crown has an obligation to make complete disclosure to the defence.

Where an accused or a witness does not appear in court when required to do so, the judge may issue a warrant, or order, for the arrest of that person. If it is unclear why the person did not appear, and if the person may have had a good excuse, the judge may ask that discretion be used by the police in executing the warrant. The idea is that a person should not be taken into custody except for very good reason.

Disfigure: ᐃᓕᙵᒃᓯᓂᖅ: ilinngaksiniq: Défigurer

To damage the good appearance of a person. It is a factor in some cases of aggravated assault. The victim's nose was broken so badly that he was left permanently disfigured.Criminal Code, 1996, section 268.

More correctly, dismissing the information. This is what the judge does in summary conviction proceedings when the defendant is found not guilty. It is the same as being found not guilty. Criminal Code, 1996, section 804.

After a trial is over, an order will be made by the judge saying what should be done with any items of evidence that were made exhibits in the trial. Some exhibits might be destroyed, e.g., weapons or drugs, and others may be returned to their owners. The exhibits might thus be disposed of in different ways.

Especially in cases of divorce, a decision about how the property of the marriage is to be divided between the spouses. A couple can divide their property by agreement or by going to court. The term can equally be used of any agreement or court-ordered dividing, or sharing out, of property.

Divorce always requires an order from a judge granting it. Nowadays the law on divorce has been developed to make it quite easy for parties to obtain a divorce; it is rarely necessary for them to go to court and give evidence. It is still necessary for a trial to be held when the parties disagree with respect to the custody of children or the division of property. Also, while it is now necessary only for the spouses to have been living separate and apart for one year to establish a basis for divorce, a divorce may still be based on the grounds of adultery or cruelty. Where any of these issues are contested, it will be necessary for a trial to be held. Such a trial is conducted like any civil trial.

The unexplained possession, by an accused, of recently stolen property, is sufficient to allow a court to infer, or come to the conclusion, that the accused is guilty of theft, or a similar crime. Criminal Code, 1996, section 354, and cases decided under the section.

Territorial legislation dealing with some of the issues of separation of spouses, support of one separated spouse by the other and the guardianship of children. Domestic Relations Act, 1988, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. D-8.

Where a person is convicted of impaired driving, the court must prohibit that person from driving for a period of time. In other offences involving motor vehicles, the court may prohibit a convicted person from driving for a period. Criminal Code, 1996, section 259. See Impaired.

Terms given to those offences where the Crown has a choice, or election, to treat the offence either as a summary conviction or an indictable matter. If the Crown elects summarily, the accused may not have a jury trial but is subject to a lower maximum term of imprisonment. If the Crown elects to proceed by indictment the accused is entitled to a jury trial but is liable to longer terms of imprisonment. See Absolute Jurisdiction Offence, Election (Crown).

In the law of tort, it is an obligation which is recognized by law to live up to a certain standard in order to protect others from unreasonable risks. Usually it is based on the relationship between people. The most famous expression of the duty of care is called the "neighbour principle" based on a famous British case called Donoghue v. Stevenson. "The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes in law you must not injure your neighbour; and the lawyer's question, "who is my neighbour?" receives a restricted reply ... The answer seems to be—persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being ... affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called into question."

A dwelling place is a person's home. Domicile refers to the country or province in which a person lives on a permanent basis.

E

Elders: ᐃᓄᑐᖃᐃᑦ: inutuqait: Aînés

Mature and respected members of the community to whom others turn for advice and direction.

Election: ᓂᕈᐊᕐᓂᖅ: niruarniq: Élection/vote/scrutin

The procedure in which citizens choose their representatives in Parliament, the Provincial or Territorial legislature, municipal councils and a wide range of other institutions, both governmental and private.

Except in the case of absolute jurisdiction offences, where the Crown proceeds by indictment in a criminal case, the accused has the right to choose, or elect, which court he or she wants to be tried by. He or she may choose to be tried by the Territorial Court, or by the Supreme Court—with or without a jury.

The creation, by the police or other government authority, of a situation which causes a person to commit a criminal offence. For example, where an undercover narcotics investigator provides drugs to an accused and asks him or her to sell them so that he or she can then be arrested. The courts will not allow an accused to be convicted in a clear case. Entrapment is a form of defence that the accused can claim.

When a person is charged with a criminal offence, the offence is always written down in a document called the information or indictment. Since there are no criminal offences in Canada except for those in the Criminal Code, and a few other statutes, the offence set out in the document must be one found in the Code or another criminal statute. However, the Crown can add details to the barebones offence. The Crown is then required to prove each element, or ingredient, of the offence. If the Crown adds details, it must prove those also. These are the essential elements. In a jury trial, the judge always tells the jury what these ingredients are so that the jury can decide whether the Crown has proved each one. Annotated copies of the Criminal Code such as Martin's and Tremeear's contain useful commentaries which indicate the essential elements of all offences.

Estates: ᐱᖁᑎᖏᑦ: piqutingit: Domaine/patrimoine

A person's estate is all of his or her property. Most often, the term is used in connection with the property of a person who has died.

Evict: ᐊᓂᑎᑦᑎᓂᖅ: anitittiniq: Expulser/évincer

To expel a person or persons from a place. Especially the expelling of a tenant by a landlord from the house or apartment which he or she rents from the landlord.

Eviction Order: ᐊᓂᑎᑦᑎᔾᔪᑎ: anitittijjuti: Ordonnance d'expulsion

A court order permitting a landlord to evict a tenant. This is necessary because there is legislation which protects tenants from being evicted except in accordance with the law.

Evidence: ᓇᓗᓇᐃᕈᑎᒃᓴᖅ: nalunairutiksaq: Preuve

Information with respect to a matter being considered by a court, provided usually through witnesses who have sworn under an oath or solemn affirmation to tell the truth. The court considers this evidence, and only this evidence, in deciding the matter.

It is not all, or any, information that can be put before a court. There are many rules, together constituting a branch of the law, called the law of evidence, which govern what may properly be told to a court. These rules are often difficult to follow in a particular case and the judge has to decide, if there is difficulty, what may be admitted and what may not. Such difficulties, or questions, are often termed evidentiary points. In a jury trial, evidentiary points are usually discussed by the judge and the lawyers in the absence of the jury. This is so that the jury hears only evidence which is admissible, and is not confused by hearing inadmissible evidence.

There are three branches of government in the Canadian system at both the federal and provincial levels. These are the legislative, judicial and executive branches. The legislature (that is, Parliament at the federal level) and the provincial legislatures make the laws. The Judiciary (that is, the courts) interprets the law, resolves disputes between parties and applies the criminal law. The executive is the government, the prime minister or premier, and his or her cabinet ministers. It has the responsibility and power to give effect to the law. Each of these branches is independent of the others. The executive branch cannot, for example, tell the judiciary what to do. This is why it is a serious matter when a cabinet minister tries to influence a court secretly to favour one side or the other.

The male and female terms for a person appointed by a testator, or maker of a will, to carry out the provisions of the will and dispose of the testator's estate, or property, in accordance with the will. Under a will, all of the dead person's property is left to the executor, who is responsible for paying any debts and distributing what is left over among the heirs according to the instructions in the will.

In a criminal trial, the verdict of the jury must be unanimous. Sometimes the twelve people of the jury cannot agree. This is known as a hung jury. When this situation occurs, and the jury tells the judge that it cannot agree, the judge usually asks the jury to try again to reach agreement, explaining that if the jury is unable to agree, it will be necessary to declare a mistrial and start all over again with a new jury. The judge can only exhort, or encourage, the jury to try to reach agreement. He or she cannot insist.

Usually, in court proceedings, there are at least two sides. As a rule, both sides are entitled to be present and to make submissions when the judge is deciding some aspect of the case. Sometimes, it is not possible, or necessary, for both sides to be present. When an order is made where only one party has been present, it is known by the Latin term Ex Parte.

Explicit: ᓇᓗᓇᐃᔭᖅᓯᒪᑦᑎᐊᖅᑐᖅ: nalunaijaqsimattiaqtuq: Exact/précis/net

Clear, in detail, certain. See Implicit.

F

Where an accused or a witness does not go to court despite being ordered to do so. Unless there is a good excuse, such a person may be convicted of a criminal offence. Criminal Code, 1996, section 145(2).

Where a person is released from custody on an undertaking, or promise, to follow certain conditions, and fails to follow one or more of the conditions. A criminal offence. Criminal Code, 1996, section 145(3).

Territorial legislation that prohibits discrimination in employment and the provision of accommodation and services. Discrimination is prohibited because of race, creed, colour, sex, marital status, nationality, ancestry, place of origin, disability, age or family of a person or because a person was convicted of an offence but subsequently pardoned. Paying women lower wages than men for doing the same or similar work is specifically prohibited. Fair Practices Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. F-2.

Family Law: ᐃᓚᒋᓄᑦ ᒪᓕᒐᖅ: ilaginnut maligaq: Droit de la famille

That branch of the law dealing with divorce, custody, access and financial support of children and division of property of a failed marriage.

That department of the federal government where the government's lawyers work. When the government is involved in litigation, or court cases, lawyers from this department are usually used. Much research leading to new laws is done here also. In the Northwest Territories, it is lawyers from this department who represent the Crown in the criminal courts.

In a jury trial, it is the jury that makes the decisions about the evidence and gives the verdict. In doing this, the jury has to follow the law as it is explained by the judge. The judge explains the law to the jury after all the evidence has been heard, in his or her final instructions to the jury. The same thing as the charge to the jury.

Everyone's fingerprints are different. In committing a crime, the criminal often leaves his or her fingerprints on various surfaces. These can be seen and studied for comparison with the fingerprints of known criminals, a record of which is kept by the police. The specialists who do this work are fingerprint experts. If fingerprint evidence is used in court, it would be explained by one of these experts.

Murder is first degree murder when it is planned and deliberate. It is more serious than second degree murder. The minimum sentence for first degree murder is imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole for 25 years. Criminal Code, 1996, section 231.

A person is unfit to stand trial who, because of mental disorder, is unable to understand the proceedings or its consequences, or communicate with a lawyer. All others are fit to stand trial. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 2 & 672. See Unfit to Stand Trial.

A home which has been approved by the Department of Social Services for the care of children in need of protection.

Frustration: ᐊᑲᐅᖏᓪᓕᐅᕐᓂᖅ: akaungilliurniq: Déception/frustration

A narrow exception to the general rule in contract law that there is a duty to fulfill the terms of any contract into which you enter, no matter what happens. Frustration occurs when the fundamental purpose for which a person entered into a contract disappears. For example, if there was an agreement to buy a ski-doo, but it was in a serious accident before the buyer received it, the buyer would no longer be obliged to pay because the purpose of the agreement had been frustrated.

G

See Garnishment. A debtor who is obliged to give part of his or her salary to his or her creditor on a regular basis. When money is garnished, it is usually deducted from a cheque before the debtor even receives it.

A court order in debtor-creditor proceedings. When it appears there may be a problem ensuring that a debt is repaid, the court can order that a garnishee be attached to a person's wages or other payments they may receive. The garnishee is usually a deduction, so the money is taken by the court or the creditor before the debtor receives it.

Genuine: ᐱᒋᐊᓐᖓᐅᑎᒥᓂᖅ: pigianngautiminiq: Véritable/réel/authentique

The real thing, not fake. It is a word used in the offence of using a forged document. Criminal Code, 1996, section 368.

Before a person will be heard by a court the person must show that he or she has some legal right or interest to protect. This is called standing. Sometimes persons other than the initial parties in a case consider that the outcome of the case may affect their legal interests and ask the court to grant them standing so that they can participate in the proceedings.

An institution established by the Department of Social Services to care for mentally and physically disabled people.

Guardian: ᐱᓯᒪᑦᑎᔨ: pisimattiji: Tuteur(trice)

A person who has the legal responsibility of caring for another person and his or her interests. Parents are the guardians of their children. A court may appoint a person to be the guardian of someone who is not a child but who is incapable, through age or illness, to manage his or her own affairs.

Guilty: ᐸᓯᔭᒃᓴᖅ: pasijaksaq: Coupable

The finding of a court that the accused is to be blamed for the offence with which he or she was charged.

The verdict that an accused is guilty, not of the exact offence with which he or she was charged, but with a less serious offence, all of the essential elements of which are included in the essential elements of the more serious offence. Thus, a person might be found not guilty of assault with a weapon, but guilty of common assault.

H

A specialist who analyzes samples of handwriting to give his or her opinion as to whether it is the handwriting of a certain person or is a forgery.

Hanging: ᕿᒥᓐᓂᖅ: qiminniq: Pendre (v.)/pendaison (nom)

A method of killing a person by tying a rope around his or her neck and dropping him or her from a height so that death by breaking the neck or by strangulation follows. This was the method used in Canada when death was the sentence for murder. Also frequently used by suicides.

Culpable homicide that would otherwise be murder may be reduced to manslaughter if the person who committed it did so in the heat of passion caused by sudden provocation. A loss of self-control involving great anger. Criminal Code, 1996, section 232.

I

All those drugs the possession and sale of which is prohibited by the Narcotics Control Act and the Food & Drugs Act. There are schedules, or lists, at the end of each of these pieces of federal legislation, that list all of these prohibited substances. The most common are hashish, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and magic mushrooms.

The process whereby the sheriff, a court official, arranges for a number of people on the voters' list to be summoned to court for jury service.

Impartial: ᐃᓚᓕᐅᖅᓯᒪᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ: ilaliuqsimanngittuq: Impartial

Favouring neither one side nor the other; fair.

Implicit: ᓇᓗᓇᐃᔭᖅᓯᒪᓐᖏᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ: nalunaijaqsimanngiluaqtuq: Implicite

Something that is not clearly stated in a statement or behaviour but is contained within the meaning of the statement or behaviour when properly understood. Implicit in the unusually heavy fine imposed by the judge was his severe disapproval of the accused's behaviour.See Explicit, Implied.

That which is not clearly expressed in words but is, logically, part of the meaning of a statement or pattern of behaviour. By making no reference to his son in his will, the testator implied that he had no love for him. See Explicit, Implicit.

Imprisonment: ᑎᒍᔭᐅᓯᒪᓂᖅ: tigujausimaniq: Emprisonnement/incarcération

The act of placing a person in prison (jail, or gaol).

Inadmissible: ᓴᖅᑭᑕᒃᓴᐅᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ: saqqitaksaunngittuq: Inadmissible

Evidence which may not lawfully be used in court. See Admissible, Admissible Evidence.

A child taken from his or her family by the Department of Social Services is said to be in care.

Incoherent: ᓱᖅᑯᐃᓇᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ: suqquinanngittuq: Incohérent

Unable, because of emotional distress or physical disability, to make sense. The witness collapsed in tears and became completely incoherent. The judge took a break for a few minutes while the witness calmed down and was ready to continue answering questions.

Incompetent: ᐊᔪᓗᐊᖅᑐᖅ: ajuluaqtuq: 1. Incompétent/2. incapable

A person who lacks the necessary ability or knowledge or judgment to perform a duty or function is said to be incompetent. The Discipline Committee of the Law Society decided that the lawyer's performance had been so incompetent that he should be required to take a number of courses before being allowed to continue practising law.

Unable because of age, disease or some legal rule to perform a legal task such as making a will or giving evidence.

A form of sexual assault, not usually involving sexual intercourse, that is not part of today's criminal law. Nowadays an accused would be charged with sexual assault. This charge can still be made when the accused is alleged to have done this before the law was changed in the early 1980s.

Independent: ᐃᒻᒥᒃᑰᖅᑐᖅ: immikkuuqtuq: Indépendant

Able to operate and make decisions without being influenced by others. An important idea with respect to the courts, judges and lawyers. The accused was satisfied that his lawyer would not be influenced by what was being said on TV and the newspapers, and that he could expect his lawyer to defend him without fear of anything other than the law.

The document containing the words of the charge against an accused which is given to the jury so that it can see what the Crown has to prove. Also used in Supreme Court trials without a jury. See Information.Criminal Code, 1996, section 566.

Tending, improperly, to arouse feelings of anger, disgust, pity, etc. It is considered wrong for a lawyer representing the Crown to make a speech to a jury which is inflammatory, in the sense that the lawyer tries to unfairly prejudice the jury against the accused. Sometimes an appeal court will order a new trial where this has been done.

Informant: ᑐᓴᖅᑕᐅᑎᑦᓯᔪᖅ: tusaqtautitsijuq: Dénonciateur

The person who lays an information, i.e., makes a written complaint of criminal behaviour under oath. Criminal Code, 1996, section 785. Also a person who provides information of criminal activity to the police, secretly. In criminal slang: a "snitch." The law provides special protections for such people because it is believed that they are necessary for the suppression of crime.

Information: ᑐᓴᖅᑕᐅᑎᑦᑎᔾᔪᑎᑦ: tusaqtautittijjutit: Dénonciation

The complaint, in writing and under oath, by an informant, that a criminal offence has been committed. Most often, the information is sworn by the investigating police officer after his or her investigation gives him or her a reasonable basis to believe that an offence has been committed. It is the beginning of criminal proceedings against an accused. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 785, 788, 789.

Ingredients: ᐃᓗᓕᖏᑦ: ilulingit: Éléments/ingrédients

See Essential Elements.

Injunction: ᓴᖅᑮᖁᔨᓐᖏᓐᓂᖅ: saqqiiqujinninniq: Injonction

A court order prohibiting a person or organization from doing something it considers will be harmful to another party's interests or to the public interest. The Cree of James Bay obtained an injunction from Mr. Justice Malouf of the Quebec Superior Court stopping Hydro-Quebec's development of the James Bay power project. The injunction was soon overturned by the Court of Appeal. In rare cases, the court can issue an injunction to do something specific to remedy a harmful action (e.g., to take down a tower spitefully built too near a runway). If a person violates an injunction, they can be found to be in contempt of court, a criminal offence.

See Essential Elements. The Crown must offer proof of each essential element. Where there is no proof of one or more of the essential elements, there is insufficient evidence and the accused cannot be convicted. Even where there is some evidence on each element, the trier of fact, the judge or the jury, may feel that the evidence is insufficient for a conviction, that the evidence is just not enough.

Insurance: ᓇᓪᓕᐅᒃᑯᒫᑦ: nalliukkumaat: Assurance

Protection against loss, either of life and limb or of property, obtained by purchase of an insurance policy from an insurance company. The insurance company pays for the loss and thus, the person is compensated. His snowmobile was taken by a joyrider and was totally destroyed. Luckily, he had insurance, and the money he got from the insurance company was enough to buy a new snowmobile.

Tests which are designed to indicate the level of intelligence of a person. Also called I.Q. tests—for Intelligence Quotient.

Intent: ᐱᓂᐊᕈᒪᓂᖅ: piniarumaniq: Intention

A person is said to have acted with intent when they take action or fail to take action where there is or should be an awareness of the consequences of their action or failure to act. A person does not necessarily have to want a particular thing to happen, nor does intent refer to a reason or a plan to do wrong. They simply must act in a way that creates a risk of an outcome that could injure another person or their property. Intent can be very important when a judge is trying to determine someone's civil or criminal liability. The government has the power to decide how much intent is required to find someone liable—so for some harmful acts, such as pollution, the government will decide that a lawyer must only prove that a person did not take the proper precautions against pollution, not necessarily that they were aware of a particular danger; for others, such as drunk driving, the lawyer need not prove anything about intent, simply that a person was impaired due to alcohol.

Intention: ᐱᓂᐊᕐᓂᕋᕐᓂᖅ: piniarnirarniq: Dessein/but/intention

The mental determination to do something. Not an accident. See Intent.

The modern term for the private legal action a person can take when they have suffered a direct injury (to themselves, their land or their possessions). Historically, the legal word trespass had the same meaning. Today, intentional torts include trespass to property, battery, and false imprisonment, among others. See Tort.

Under the Liquor Act, a list of persons who are forbidden, often at their own request, to consume alcohol. The list is provided to bars and other establishments serving alcohol. It is an offence to supply alcohol to a person on the interdict list.

In the course of court proceedings, it is often necessary to have some things decided before the final outcome of the case. These are interim issues. For example, before a court decides finally which parent, in divorce proceedings, should have custody of a child, it is usually necessary to decide who should have custody in the meanwhile, or interim.

A decision made by a judge before the final outcome of a case, which the parties have to obey until a trial is over or some other settlement is reached. Interim orders are only used when there is some reason that the parties cannot wait until the end of the trial. For example, if there is a long court battle over the custody of a child, the judge will issue an interim order giving custody to one person.

The remedy granted in an interim order. The court adjourned the trial on the issue of custody of the children, granting interim relief to the mother and stating that she should have custody in the interim and $200 a month from the father for the support of each of the children.

A jail sentence that does not have to be served all at once but can be broken up to be served, for example, on weekends. Only available for sentences of 90 days or less. Enables people to keep their jobs. Criminal Code, 1996, section 732.

A party that becomes involved in a court case that was begun by others, with the permission of the court. See Granting Standing.Inuit Tapirisat of Canada was an important intervenor in the National Energy Board hearings into the Arctic Pilot Project.

(Also called joint ownership, though that is not the correct term.) When two or more people own the whole of (an interest in) property together. No joint tenant can be said to have a "share" in their property, because what they own is in all ways identical to what their co-owners have. When a joint tenant dies, they cannot leave any share of property to another person, because their co-owner will automatically be entitled to the whole thing. Most real estate documents will say whether properties that are being bought by multiple owners are going to be owned as a joint tenancy or a tenancy in common.

The criminal offence of taking a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, with intent to drive it. A summary conviction offence. Criminal Code, 1996, section 335.

Judge: ᐃᖅᑲᖅᑐᐃᔨ: iqqaqtuiji: Juge/président du tribunal

A legal official whose duty is to decide cases. The more senior judges are appointed by the Federal Minister of Justice and Territorial Court judges and Justices of the Peace are appointed by the Territorial Minister of Justice. Judges enjoy security of tenure which means that the government which appointed them cannot dismiss them. Thus, judges do not have to fear political interference with their decisions. For the occasional judge who behaves in a disgraceful manner, there is a process which can lead to his or her removal.

More usually judge of the facts. This is a reference to the jury. The jury is responsible for deciding what evidence should be accepted, what are the facts of the case. In a jury trial, the presiding judge always tells the jury that the jury is the judge of the facts and the judge is the judge of the law.

See Judge Of The Evidence And The Facts. Only the judge, in a jury trial, may say what is the law that is to be applied in the case being tried. The jury, having been told, or instructed on, the law, then decides what are the facts of the case.

The review, by a court, of a decision made by a government board, agency or department. The court will decide whether the decision was made according to law, and fairly. If the judge decides that the decision was not made properly, the matter will be sent back to the agency to be dealt with again. Judicial review is different from an appeal in the court process because the judges do not have the right to re-decide the issue that is being challenged.

Ontario, British Columbia and P.E.I. have passed a law which codifies and brings together administrative law remedies. It defines the range of situations in which it will be possible for someone to apply for judicial review when an official or public agency is exercising, refusing to exercise, or claiming to exercise some power under a law. Remedies available include mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, declarations and injunctions. Where there is no such law, those same remedies are available under common law. Judicial Review Procedure Act, R.S.B.C., 1979, c. 209; R.S.O. 1990, c. J.1.

A very broad term essentially meaning power. Different courts have different jurisdictions, or powers. The Territorial Court, for example, does not have jurisdiction to conduct a jury trial. Jurisdiction also refers to the place where the court has power. For example, the Provincial Court of Alberta has no jurisdiction to try cases in the Northwest Territories. Jurisdiction can be physical—within a particular territory or province. It can also be legal—within the authority of a particular court or government agency.

Jury: ᓈᓚᒃᑎᑦ: Naalaktit: Jury

In criminal cases, a group of twelve people from the community and in civil cases, a group of six people, whose duty is to listen to the evidence of the case and decide what evidence should be accepted. Having done this, in a criminal case, the jury decides whether the accused is guilty or not guilty. In a civil case, the jury decides in favour of the plaintiff or the defendant. The jury is always instructed on how to apply the law to its decision by a judge who is legally trained.

L

Territorial legislation which defines some of the rights and responsibilities of those who own houses and those who rent them from the owners. The owners are called landlords, and those who rent, tenants. See Residential Tenancies Act.

See Charge The Jury. After the judge has charged the jury (that is: told the jury how to apply the law in the case before it), the jury leaves the courtroom and the lawyers are allowed to tell the judge if they disagree with his or her explanation of the law. If the judge, having listened to the lawyers, agrees that he or she should have explained something differently, he or she will call the jury back and explain the law further.

See Examination In Chief, Direct Examination, Cross Examination. A leading question is one which suggests an answer. Leading questions are characteristic of cross examination. "Where were you on the night of 20th January?" is not a leading question. "Do you agree that on the night of 20th January you were drinking at the Legion?" is a leading question. Normally, a lawyer is not allowed to ask leading questions of his or her own witnesses, but only of the witnesses for the other side.

Lease: ᐊᑐᖅᑐᐊᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᖏᖃᑎᒌᖕᓂᖅ: atuqtuaqnirmut angiqatigiingniq: Bail

A document which gives a person the rights to real estate for a limited period of time. For example, a 99-year lease for a parcel of land gives a person the right to do what they want with the land for 99 years, but at the end of that time, they have no further rights. The agreement between landlord and tenant is called a lease.

Recognition by the law that a person may enter into contracts and take a person to court or be taken by someone to court. Generally, age is the important issue. A person under the age of majority, 19 years in the NWT, does not have legal capacity. Persons who are mentally handicapped, etc., may also lack legal capacity.

Legal responsibility. The condition of being answerable in law for doing something or not doing something. See Criminal Liability.

License To Marry: ᑲᑎᑎᑕᐅᔪᓐᓇᕈᑎ: katititaujunnaruti: Permis de mariage

Before a couple can be married, they are required to produce a marriage license. The government or a Justice of the Peace can issue a marriage license when the two people wanting to be married have proved their intention to marry and that they are eligible. To be eligible, the people cannot be too closely related, and cannot already be married. Marriage Act,R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. M-4.

The term given to the court process, under the old law of insanity, whereby a person found not guilty by reason of insanity was kept in a mental hospital.

Limitation Periods: ᐃᓱᓕᑦᑎᕐᕕᓕᒃ: isulittirvilik: Prescription

In civil law, and to a lesser extent in criminal law, the law provides deadlines, before which a court case must be started. These deadlines are calculated from the time of the incident giving rise to a possible lawsuit. They vary from periods of months to years. Civil limitation periods are listed in the Limitations Act, Revised Statutes of the Northwest Territories. Summary conviction offences, in criminal law, must usually be prosecuted before six months from the time of the alleged offence.

A court order, usually to a spouse in a separated family, but also to a person with a duty to help a relative, ordering him or her to pay a set amount of money, usually on a regular basis, to the other spouse or other relative, for the upkeep of the other spouse and the children, or the relative. Maintenance Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. M-1; Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. M-2.

After many years of political struggle about child support, the government recently made a law that sets out levels of child support that a non-custodial parent is required to pay, depending on a number of factors, including income of both parents, age of the children, number of children, whether there are other families to be supported and so on.

A prosecution brought about, not because of any belief that an offence has been committed, but for malicious reasons—such as wanting to cause suffering to the person prosecuted. It is a tort, and the person prosecuted in this way may obtain damages from the person or agency responsible.

The Latin name, which is still used, for the administrative law remedy where a public agency or official is ordered by a court to perform a public duty because not to do so would be unfair or contrary to its responsibilities under a statute.

Manslaughter: ᑐᖂᑦᓯᓂᖅ: tuquutsiniq: Homicide involontaire

Culpable homicide that is not murder. The killing of another human without justification but also without the intent that makes murder more serious. Criminal Code, 1996, section 234.

Territorial legislation providing for the registration of members of the clergy to perform marriages, the appointment of marriage commissioners to solemnize civil (non-religious) marriages, certain prohibitions against conducting marriages (for example: where one of the parties is drunk), the publication of banns, the issuance of marriage licences and so on. Marriage Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. M-4.

Territorial legislation protecting the property rights of parties to a marriage from being disposed of by one party to the marriage without the consent of the other. Matrimonial Property Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. M-6.

A type of dispute resolution that may (and usually does) take place outside of the court system. The people with a disagreement try to work out a solution to their dispute with the assistance of a third party, whom they both trust, but who does not have the power to impose a decision on them. Compare with arbitration. Mediation is often considered useful in family law situations, where complex issues and ongoing relationships make it unlikely a judge will be able to solve a dispute better than the people involved themselves.

A criminal offence consists of both a wrongful act (see Actus Reus) and the intention to commit that act (mens rea). The actus reus without mens rea is not a criminal offence, just as mens rea without actus reus is not a criminal offence. For example, if I intend to steal your qamutiq but don't, I have not committed a criminal offence.

The deliberate causing of suffering to a person, not by means of physical blows, but by a pattern of behaviour causing the victim to suffer from low self-esteem, constant unhappiness, etc. Sometimes alleged in divorce cases.

The points that favour a particular position. In law, this term is sometimes understood to indicate an argument that deals with the rights and wrongs of a case, rather than technical considerations. For example, a defence that the accused did not do the thing he is accused of, as opposed to one that says the case cannot proceed because the court does not have jurisdiction, would be a defence on the merits, not on a technicality.

Minors: ᐅᑭᐅᑭᓗᐊᖅᑐᑦ: ukiukiluaqtut: Mineurs

Persons under the age of majority, in the NWT—19 years, and consequently unable to enter into, or be drawn into, various legal relationships. See Legal Capacity.

Mischief: ᐸᒡᕕᓵᓂᖅ: pagvisaaniq: Méfait(s)

A broad criminal offence, involving interference with and destruction of property, ranging in seriousness from very minor to very major matters. Criminal Code, 1996, section 430.

In contract law, an untrue statement which leads a person to enter into a contract. A misrepresentation is only important if it actually affects a person's decision to enter into a contract; if that is the case, that person may have a right to a remedy. Where a person knows what they are saying and is intending to deceive someone, that may be fraud, which would lead to the contract being void. When the person says something untrue by negligence (where they should have known it was untrue), damages can be awarded to a person who suffers a loss as a result of the misrepresentation.

Mistake: ᑕᒻᒪᕐᓂᖅ: tammarniq: Erreur

Where a person believes something to be true that, in fact, is not. In criminal law, this may be a defence. For example, where I take a person's boat, mistakenly believing it to be mine, I am not guilty of theft. A contract is only valid if it is based on an agreement between two or more people. If there is a fundamental misunderstanding between the two people at the time they made the contract, it may be said that there was a mistake which can lead to the contract being void. If a person thought they were making a contract with the owner of a new car that was actually a used car, there could be said to be a mistake.

A trial that has to be stopped before resolving the question involved in it. Usually, the process has to begin again. Many things can cause a mistrial. For example, jurors might become sick and unable to continue; a crucial witness might suddenly become unavailable; a piece of evidence that should not have been put before a jury is put before it; or the jurors cannot agree on a verdict.

A request by a party in a case, to the judge, to order something to be done.

Motion For And Order Not To Publish: ᐱᒋᐊᖅᑎᑕᖅ ᐊᒻᒪᓗ ᑎᓕᓯᔾᔪᑦ ᑐᓴᐅᑎᒃᑰᖅᑎᑦᑎᔭᕆᐊᖃᓐᖏᓐᓂᕐᒧᑦ: pigiaqtitaq ammalu tilisijut tusautikkuuqtittijariaqannginnirmut: Requête en non-publication/ordonnance de non-publication

Where one of the parties in a case asks the judge to order, and the judge does order, that the evidence heard in the case not be broadcast or published in any way. Such orders are usual in preliminary inquiries. Criminal Code, 1996, section 539.

A request to the judge that he or she declare a non-suit. A non-suit is a term that means there is no case to be answered. In criminal law, the Crown, in order to avoid a non-suit, must offer evidence on each of the essential elements of the offence with which the accused is charged. Where there is no evidence on one or more of these elements, the defence points this out by making a motion for a non-suit. If the judge agrees that there is evidence lacking on an essential element he or she may dismiss the case. Also called no evidence motion. See Essential Elements.

As a rule, it is thought to be desirable that witnesses in a case should not hear what other witnesses in the same case have to say. This is to prevent a witness, deliberately or unconsciously, from changing his or her evidence to match that of the other witnesses. A motion to exclude witnesses is a request to the judge to order witnesses to remain outside the courtroom until they are called in to testify.

See Committed To Stand Trial. After a preliminary inquiry, the judge either commits the accused to stand trial in the Supreme Court or discharges him or her. If there is a committal, and the accused's lawyer considers that the judge was wrong in law to commit, he or she can go to the Supreme Court and ask the judge of the Supreme Court to quash, or overturn, the committal.

The reason someone does something. In a murder case, most people tend to ask what the motive was. In other words, why did the person kill the deceased? For example, was it for money or because of jealousy.

An administrative agency created by the Government of Canada that is supposed to regulate and advise on all matters to do with energy and sources of energy in Canada. The main focus of the Act is the oil and gas industry. It controls export and import of energy, pipeline approvals, utility lines, and so forth. R.S.C., 1985, c. N-7. See Board.

The adoption of an aboriginal person, usually a child, by aboriginal parents, according to the law and custom of the aboriginal group. In the NWT, such an adoption is recognized as valid. See Adoption, Customary Law.

Necessity: ᑕᐃᒪᐃᒋᐊᖃᕈᑎᓕᒃ: taimaigiaqarutilik: Obligation/nécessité

A defence in criminal law. Breaking down someone else's door would normally be an offence of mischief. To do so to save a life would raise the defence of necessity. Similarly, a person who is very poor and very hungry, and with children to feed, might be able to rely on this defence if he or she took some groceries without paying. In other circumstances, it would be theft.

Conduct that falls below a standard of what is required for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. Today, negligence is by far the most important area of tort law. There are often taken to be five elements in an action for negligence:

duty of care—which is based on the relationship between the parties;

a failure to live up to a standard of care, which is what a reasonable person would do in all the circumstances;

material injury to one party;

a reasonable close connection between the wrongdoing and a resulting injury;

the absence of some conduct on the part of the injured person that would keep them from recovering for damages.

The killing of a human being that is not a criminal offence. For example, self defence: When a person kills another person only because it was necessary to do so to save himself or herself or someone under his or her protection.

Most judges will allow jurors to take notes as they listen to the evidence. Many judges, however, prefer that jurors not take notes, because it could distract them from listening to the evidence. Also, if jurors later wish to review a particular piece of evidence, the judge can tell the court reporter to read it back to them.

Not Guilty: ᐸᓯᔭᑦᓴᐅᓐᖏᑦᑐᖅ: pasijatsaunngittuq: Non coupable/acquitté(e)

A plea and a verdict. As a plea, it is what an accused tells the court before his or her trial, and it means that he or she is denying the validity of the charge made against him or her by the Crown. As a verdict, it means that the court decides, after reviewing the evidence—or lack of it—that the Crown's charge is not valid. The accused is freed after this verdict. See Defence.

Under the former criminal law, an accused could make this plea, and, if the judge or jury trying the case decided it was appropriate, this was a verdict that could be given. It meant that the accused was not criminally liable because he or she suffered from a disease of the mind such that he or she was unable to appreciate the criminal nature of his or her act. In serious cases such as homicide, a person found not guilty by reason of insanity would be kept in a special mental hospital. This branch of the criminal law has now been replaced by the law on mental disorder. See Criminal Code, 1996, Part XX.I.

Not Guilty On The Basis Of No Evidence: ᐸᓯᔭᒃᓴᐅᖏᑦᑐᖅ ᓇᓗᓇᐃᕈᑎᒃᓴᖃᓐᖏᒻᒪᑦ: pasijaksaunngittuq nalunairutiksaqanngimmat: Acquitté(e) faute de preuve

See Motion For Non-Suit, Essential Elements. If there is no evidence, or insufficient evidence, before the court in a criminal case, the accused cannot be found guilty and is therefore not guilty.

A few criminal offences provide more severe punishments for those who have been convicted of the same offence on a previous occasion. The most common example is that of impaired driving. The court is required to impose the greater punishment if the Crown has given the accused such a notice of intention, but not if it hasn't. Criminal Code, 1996, section 665.

A formal notice by the lawyer for one side, in writing, often required by the rules of court, filed with the court and provided to the lawyer for the other side, stating that the lawyer intends to make a submission to the court asking the court to order something to be done.

Notification: ᑐᓴᖅᑎᑦᑎᓂᖅ: tusaqtittiniq: Avis

Notice. A formal and official advisory of some kind. The hamlet put up a notice (notification) stating that snowmobiles without licence plates were not to be driven within the community.

Nuisance: ᐸᒡᕕᓇᖅᑐᖅ: pagvinaqtuq: Acte dommageable/nuisance

A complicated term with various meanings. In the legal sense, it is a field of tort liability rather than a kind of wrong behaviour. While the plain language meaning of the word suggests annoying behaviour, legal liability depends on the kind of harm suffered, not the kind of action taken. A nuisance is a substantial and unreasonable interference with an occupier's use of land. Today, nuisance is most often used to deal with pollution.

Territorial legislation governing the manufacture, sale, distribution and consumption of alcohol. It creates a number of offences, such as drinking under the age of 19, bootlegging, being drunk in a public place, possessing alcohol without a permit in a controlled community, possessing alcohol in a dry community, making home brew, etc. It also gives powers to police officers to keep drunks in custody until they sober up.

An agency of the Northwest Territories Government responsible for reviewing proposals involving fresh water bodies in the Territories, and deciding whether such proposals may or may not go ahead. See Board.

O

The solemn declaration by a person, as if made in the presence of Almighty God, that what he or she will say is the truth. Done in court by a witness before he or she gives his or her evidence. Persons who are not religious are allowed to make a solemn affirmation.

Objection: ᓈᒻᒪᒃᓴᓐᖏᓐᓂᖅ: naammaksannginniq: Objection

A submission by a lawyer in court that a question asked of a witness by a lawyer for the other side will bring out an answer that is inadmissible evidence. See Inadmissible.

Offence: ᐱᕋᔭᕐᓂᖅ: pirajarniq: Infraction

The act of breaking a law.

Offer: ᐃᖅᑲᓱᖕᓂᖅ/ᑐᓂᓯᓂᖅ: iqqasungniq/tunisiniq: Offre

In contract, the promise to do something, or not to do something, in return for something else, usually money. The first step in a commercial agreement or contract which, if met with acceptance by another, and accompanied by agreed upon consideration, results in a contract that will be enforced by the courts. For example, I want to sell my boat. I advertise that my boat is for sale for $2,000. Someone tells me he is willing to buy the boat for that price. We then have a contract, a bargain that binds both of us. My ad is the offer, the agreement by the other person is the acceptance and $2,000 is the consideration. See Acceptance, Consideration.

In a jury trial, the judge, in his or her charge to the jury, instructs the jury on the law that applies to the case it is trying. Part of the charge involves the judge telling the jury what verdicts it could make in the case. This varies from case to case. Where the judge tells the jury that there is only one possible verdict, he or she is telling it that the law will only allow one possible decision in that particular case. Not common. See Verdict.

Onus is a Latin word that means a burden, weight or responsibility. The party that has the onus of proof in a case is the party that has the responsibility to prove something. Thus, in criminal cases, it is always the Crown that has the responsibility to prove the accusation it has made. In civil cases, the party that has the onus of proof is the one that started the action, the plaintiff.

A form of custody under the Young Offenders Act. It is distinguished from secure custody. Open custody is freer than secure custody, which is more like regular jail. Young offenders serving sentences of open custody often go to ordinary schools or jobs during the day and can be given permission to go out in the community for various functions.

As a rule, ordinary witnesses are not allowed to testify about what they think but only about what they saw, did, said or felt. They can give their opinions about those things that anyone might be expected to have a useful opinion about, whether they thought a person was drunk, for example. But opinion evidence refers to the evidence of specialists or experts in various areas. In a murder case, the court will hear the opinion of a pathologist as to the cause of death. Before an expert will be allowed to give opinion evidence, it will be necessary to show the court that the witness is an expert in the area in which he or she will give an opinion.

Assessment means an assessment by a medical practitioner of the mental condition of an accused and any observation or examination of an accused made in the course of that process. An assessment order is made by the judge having jurisdiction over an accused where he or she has reason to believe that this would provide evidence to determine whether an accused is unfit to stand trial or whether he or she was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the alleged offence or for sentencing purposes. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 672.1, 672.2, 672.11.

Order Of Interdiction: ᐃᒥᖅᑕᐃᓕᖁᔨᔾᔪᑦ: imiqtailiqujijjut: Ordonnance de prohibition [d'alcool]

Under section 104 of the Liquor Act of the Northwest Territories, a justice of the peace may make an order of interdiction, lasting for up to three years, against a person which prohibits him or her from consuming liquor and others from selling him or her liquor. Such an order may be made where the justice of the peace is satisfied that the person is injuring his or her health, wasting his or her money or interrupting the peace and happiness of his or her family.

Ordinance: ᒪᓕᒐᖅ: maligaq: Décret/ordonnance

A law made by a junior lawmaking authority, such as a municipality. The laws of the Northwest Territories used to be called ordinances. They are now called statutes, as are the laws of Canada and the provinces. It is not a very important distinction and, in ordinary language, the words are interchangeable. The King James version of the Scriptures speaks of God's Ordinances.

Where a person who has contributed to the Canada Pension Plan dies before they reach the age of sixty-five, and has dependent children (under eighteen years of age), the plan pays a monthly amount towards the support of the children. Canada Pension Plan, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-8.

See Objection. Where a lawyer makes the submission that evidence that the lawyer for the other side is trying to put before the court is inadmissible, the judge has to decide who is right. If he or she agrees with the lawyer making the objection, he or she allows the objection or rules in favour of it. If the judge does not agree with the objection, he or she rules against it or overrules it.

P

Pardon: ᓴᓂᕐᕙᐃᓂᖅ: sanirvainiq: Réhabilitation

A pardon is a procedure under federal legislation called the Criminal Records Act whereby the criminal record of a person is kept separate from other criminal records and generally may not be accessed. A pardon does not wipe out a person's record and if the person commits another serious crime, the pardon will be revoked. However, government agencies cannot refuse employment to persons who have been pardoned simply because they have criminal records. Other prospective employers are not supposed to be able to find out that a person has a criminal record if the prospective employee has been pardoned. A pardon has to be applied for. The process is managed by the National Parole Board.

A remedy provided by the Criminal Code whereby the Justice of the Peace Court or the Territorial Court can order a person to keep the peace towards the person who applied to the court for a peace bond. Criminal Code, 1996, section 810.

A loss that can be measured in terms of money. Pecunia is the Latin word for money.

Penalty: ᓱᒋᐊᖅᑕᐅᓂᖅ: sugiaqtauniq: Punition/châtiment

A punishment provided by law. A payment that has to be made because of non-compliance. Thus, the word refers both to punishments like imprisonment and to the consequences of non-criminal non-compliance such as late payment of income tax.

Penitentiary: ᐊᓄᓪᓚᒃᓰᕝᕕᒡᔪᐊᖅ: anullaksiivvigjuaq: Pénitencier

A prison, run by the federal government, for prisoners who have been sentenced to jail terms of two years or more. Prisons for those who have been sentenced to less than two years are run by the provincial or territorial governments and are often called reformatories or correctional centres. They are all jails.

A pension is the regular, periodic payment to a person after that person has completed a certain number of years of service for an employer, or has contributed to a pension plan over his or her working life. Usually, while the person is still working, he or she contributes a portion of his or her pay to the plan, as does the employer. Pension benefits refer to what the person is or will be entitled to upon retirement from the workforce.

In a jury trial, both the accused and the Crown are allowed to object, without stating a reason, to a number of the people who are called forward to be jurors. In most of the jury trials taking place in the Northwest Territories, each side is allowed twelve peremptory challenges. But in the most serious cases, such as murder, the number of such challenges is twenty and, in relatively minor cases, four. Criminal Code, 1996, section 634.

A disability which does not completely disable a person but is of a lasting nature. Under the Workers' Compensation Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, section 43, such a disability will entitle the disabled person to a permanent monthly compensation payment reflecting the extent, expressed as a percentage, of the disability.

Where a child is taken by the Department of Social Services because it is in need of protection, the child will eventually be returned to its parents or kept away permanently from its parents. In the latter case, the child is called a permanent ward. Such a child is then usually adopted in an adoption arranged by the Superintendent of Child Welfare. See Departmental Adoption.

Suffering. Courts try to avoid making orders that will result in personal hardship to a person. In imposing fines or in making maintenance orders, a judge will try to avoid ordering payments that make the life of the person who has to pay the money too hard.

Petition: ᐊᕕᑦᑎᒍᒪᔾᔪᑎ: avittigumajjuti: Pétition

A request by a number of citizens who sign their names to a document, usually addressed to a government agency of some kind, that something be done. Three hundred residents of Iqaluit signed a petition asking that the prisoner be granted early release.

Petition (N): ᑎᑎᖅᑲᒃᑯᑦ ᑐᒃᓯᕋᐅᑦ: titiqqakkut tuksiraut: Requête

The document with which certain actions, or court cases, are begun. Other actions are begun with a statement of claim. The reason for the distinction is historical and no longer very important. Where an action is begun with a petition, the person beginning it is called the petitioner and the person on the other side is called the respondent. Where an action is begun with a statement of claim, the person starting it is called the plaintiff and the person on the other side is called the defendant. All these terms refer to non-criminal cases.

The person who begins a court case. The person on the other side is called the defendant. See Petition.

Planned: ᐸᕐᓇᐃᔭᐅᑎᒋᓯᒪᓪᓗᒍ: parnaijautigisimallugu: Planifié

Thinking something out in advance of doing it. Evidence of planning in a criminal case provides evidence of intent. A component in the crime of first degree murder, which is murder that is planned and deliberate. Criminal Code, 1996, section 231(2).

Plea: ᑭᐅᔾᔪᑎ ᐃᖅᑲᖅᑐᒐᒃᓴᐅᔾᔪᑎᓄᑦ: kiujjuti iqqaqtugaksaujjutinut: Plaidoyer

The formal statement by an accused that he or she is guilty or not guilty. There are three other pleas in criminal law which are called special pleas and are encountered infrequently. These are the pleas of autrefois acquit, autrefois convict and pardon. These special pleas mean, respectively, "I have been tried for this offence before and found not guilty," "I have been tried for this offence before and found guilty," and "I have been pardoned for this offence."

Usually in the plural, pleadings. This term refers to the written documents, filed with the court in a civil case, in which the parties set out their claims and defences. The basic pleadings are the statement of claim and statement of defence.

Plebiscite: ᓂᕈᐊᕐᓂᑦ: niruarniq: Plébiscite

A form of direct democracy where all the voters in an area are given a chance to vote on a specific proposed policy or law. Either the territorial government or municipal government may have plebiscites. When the territory has a plebiscite, the commissioner decides on the question, for example, on the Nunavut boundary, and the government is not required to follow the result. Plebiscite Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. P-. Where a municipality holds a plebiscite, it is at the request of 25% of the citizens of the hamlet or town, and the local government is required to follow the results. Cities, Towns, and Villages Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. C-8.

Generally, the law does not require citizens to answer questions asked of them by the police. The right to remain silent is the right of everyone, but is of special importance to an accused. When an accused chooses not to exercise his or her right to remain silent, and instead gives a statement to the police, the courts will accept that statement, which is often a confession of guilt, as evidence, but will first want to be sure that the accused made the statement willingly, and not because of any threats or promises made by the police. The following are the words used by a judge of the judicial committee of the British House of Lords, at that time Canada's final appeal court, in the 1914 case of Ibrahim v. The King, the starting point for discussion on this point of the law: "It has long been established as a positive rule of English criminal law, that no statement by an accused is admissible in evidence against him unless it is shewn by the prosecution to have been a voluntary statement, in the sense that it has not been obtained from him either by fear of prejudice or hope of advantage exercised or held out
by a person in authority."

The courts recognize that a confession from an accused is very powerful evidence for the Crown, usually resulting in a conviction. The courts also recognize that some police officers, who know as well as anyone that a confession will lead to a conviction, are capable of tricking or threatening an accused until he or she gives a statement. The challenge for the Crown, in the voir dire on the statement, is to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the statement was voluntary. The police officer who took the statement is always called as a witness in this voir dire, as is everyone else who was present.

The Crown cannot call the accused as a witness on the voir dire, but the defence often does. If the defence is successful in raising a reasonable doubt as to the voluntariness of the statement, the judge will not allow it to be used as evidence. The police warning, then, is what the police are supposed to say to an accused, before they take a statement from him or her, if they hope to use the statement in evidence. It usually goes something like this: "You need not say anything. You have nothing to hope from any promise or favour and nothing to fear from any threat whether or not you do say anything. Anything you do say may be used as evidence." In addition to this traditional warning, the police in Canada today are expected to tell the accused that he or she has the right to call a lawyer and that, if he or she can't afford a lawyer, legal aid will pay for the lawyer. If an accused does call a lawyer, whose duty is to protect the rights of his or her client, the advice he or she receives will nearly always be: "Whatever you do, don't give a statement." There is nothing wrong
with a guilty person making a confession if that is what he or she wants to do, understanding that he or she is under no compulsion to do so. There is something profoundly wrong, however, with a confession extracted by threats or false promises; it is this that the courts are against.

In a jury trial, after the jury has returned with a verdict, the judge has the power, if he or she wants, to poll the jury. This means that each individual juror is asked if he or she agrees with the verdict just given by the foreperson of the jury. Usually the judge does this upon the request of one of the lawyers.

Possession: ᓄᓇᒥᒃ ᐱᓯᒪᑦᑎᓂᖅ: nunamik pisimattiniq: Possession

In Canadian and English real estate law, people do not actually own land itself, they only have certain rights to the land. (It is thought the Queen herself owns the land.) The most important of these rights is the right to possession. Possession is a right to use and occupy real estate (land or buildings), which will be recognized and enforced by the courts.

The criminal offence of possessing a narcotic listed as a prohibited drug in the Narcotics Control Act for the purpose of distributing it to others, either by sale or other means. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Narcotics Control Act, section 4(2). See also Trafficking In Narcotics.

The offence, created by the Liquor Act of the Northwest Territories, of possessing alcohol without a permit in a community which has voted to restrict the possession of alcohol to those who obtain a permit from a local committee set up under the authority of the Act.

The criminal offence of possessing a drug prohibited by the Narcotics Control Act. Generally a much less serious offence than possession for the purpose of trafficking. Narcotics Control Act, section 3(1).

The criminal offence of possessing property, knowing that it was obtained through the commission of a crime. For example, if you buy or otherwise acquire a gun from someone, knowing that person stole the gun, you are guilty of this offence. Criminal Code, 1996, section 354.

In a jury trial, in his or her charge to the jury, the judge must tell the jury what options it has in returning a verdict. Very often the possible verdicts will just be guilty or not guilty of the offence charged. Sometimes the possible verdicts will include guilty of a lesser included offence. For example, a man might be charged with sexual assault. The evidence might be clear that there was an assault, but less clear that it was an assault of a sexual nature. In such a case, a possible verdict would be not guilty of sexual assault but guilty of common assault.

The word "apprehend" may mean to seize or arrest or to understand. In a legal context it usually means to seize a person or a thing or to arrest a person. It is a term used in the Child Welfare Act to mean the act of taking a child in need of protection by the Superintendent of Child Welfare his or her agent. The power to apprehend arises when the circumstances indicate that a child is in need of protection.

It is an important principle of the law that court proceedings be open to the public. A judge may exclude the public in certain cases if this is necessary in the interest of public morals, the maintenance of order or the proper administration of justice. In those rare cases in which the judge exercises his or her power to exclude the public, it is often done to protect young witnesses in sexual offence cases. Criminal Code, 1996, section 486.

Precedent: ᐊᔪᕆᑕᐅᓕᕈᓐᓇᖅᑐᖅ: ajuritaulirunnaqtuq: Jurisprudence

The rule of precedent is the rule that cases should be decided according to the principles established in cases that preceded (or went before) it. The common law system is based on the principle that cases with similar facts raising similar legal issues will be decided alike. A case that has already occurred is a precedent when it had similar facts and dealt with a similar legal issue to a case that is being decided by a judge. Precedent becomes law because judges are required to follow earlier cases unless they can find a way to show that the case they are deciding is different in a meaningful way.

In Canada, a criminal prosecution begins with the person, usually a police officer, who says a crime has been committed, stating under oath to a Justice of the Peace that he or she believes that the accused has committed a specified criminal offence. The Justice of the Peace, if he or she considers it necessary or desirable, may require that witnesses be called at this stage for a pre-charge hearing. In practice this rarely happens. It is thought by some that it is a pity that more pre-charge hearings (which are held in camera) are not held and that in this country it is too easy to commence a criminal prosecution. In other countries, France, for example, considerably more investigation takes place before a person is placed in the position of an accused. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 507 & 508.

A report by a social worker on a young person, based on interviews with the young person, his or her family and others who know him or her, that is often required for sentencing purposes in Youth Court. Young Offenders Act, section 14.

Prejudice: ᐃᓚᐃᓐᓈᕐᓂᖅ: ilainnaarniq: Préjudice/au détriment de

Prejudice, in its ordinary meaning, is a word everyone is familiar with as indicating that state of mind which tends to be racist, sexist, etc. The word is used in law in a rather technical manner. In a criminal trial, for example, it is expected that the Crown will present evidence that tends to operate to the prejudice of the accused, meaning that the evidence tends to show that he or she is guilty. Frequently, a judge will consider whether a piece of evidence can be admitted by applying a test which considers whether the prejudicial effect of the evidence outweighs its probative value. For example, when an accused chooses to give evidence, the Crown can often cross-examine the accused on his or her criminal record. Often, the defence will ask the court to prohibit the Crown from doing this. Consider, for example, a case in which the accused is charged with sexual assault and his or her record shows that he or she has previously been convicted of similar offences. The judge may say that the Crown cannot bring up the record because, although the record might suggest to the jury that the accused may not be credible, and in
this sense have probative value (tend to prove something in the case), the prejudicial effect of the jury knowing that the accused has done this sort of thing before may cause them to lose sight of the case before them and convict him or her because of his or her record.

Where an accused is charged with an offence which allows him or her to choose to be tried in the Supreme Court, with or without a jury, a hearing called a preliminary hearing is first held in the Territorial Court. The purpose of this hearing is for the judge of the Territorial Court to determine whether the Crown has sufficient evidence on each of the essential elements of the charge to justify sending the case to the Supreme Court. The preliminary hearing, which is the same thing as a preliminary inquiry, is also an opportunity for the accused to find out more about the case against him or her by listening to and questioning the witnesses that the Crown calls. Criminal Code, 1996, Part XVIII.

Often, at the beginning of a trial, the judge will ask the lawyers if there are any preliminary matters or issues to be addressed before the trial gets underway. These might include motions for the exclusion of witnesses, or of the public, or evidentiary points. In a jury trial, especially, courts like to get such matters dealt with in an organized way so as to inconvenience the jury as little as possible. It should be remembered that many of these matters are dealt with in the absence of the jury. It is annoying for everyone if the jury has to keep leaving the courtroom because the lawyers are not organized.

Even when there is no right of appeal, superior courts exercise a power to supervise the decisions of institutions and officials with responsibilities for administering public programs. The remedies that courts can offer in those cases are called prerogative orders. They include certiorari, mandamus and prohibition. These remedies are discretionary, and granted where there is a public interest in controlling the use of government power. They are also called administrative law remedies.

Medicinal drugs that legally may only be purchased if a doctor or a qualified nurse prescribes them. Most people will be familiar with the document that doctors give patients to take to the pharmacy, called a prescription.

A report by a social worker on an accused who has been found guilty, based on interviews with the accused, his or her family and others who know him or her, for the assistance of the judge in sentencing the accused. Criminal Code, 1996, section 721.

The principle of criminal law that is referred to here is the presumption of innocence. It is a principle of the first importance. It is always explained to juries with great care by the presiding judge. It means that unless an accused is proved to be guilty by the Crown beyond a reasonable doubt, the law treats him or her as if he or she were innocent. This means that, in a criminal trial, the accused does not have to prove anything. The accused starts the trial presumed innocent and, unless the Crown succeeds in proving its accusation beyond a reasonable doubt, he or she ends it innocent also. See Onus, Burden of Proof, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.

The criminal law of insanity has recently been changed. The law now speaks of mental disorder. Under both the old law and the new law, however, an accused is presumed to be sane or, today, presumed fit to stand trial unless the court is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the accused is unfit to stand trial. Criminal Code, 1996, section 672.22.

Prima Facie: ᓯᕗᓪᓕᖅᐹᖓᓂ: sivulliqpaangani: « Prima facie »

A Latin term meaning "at first sight." We often speak of a prima facie case, meaning that it looks, at first glance, as if someone, the Crown in a criminal case or the plaintiff in a civil case, has at least the bare bones of a case, and should be allowed to take up the time of the court in attempting to prove it.

When the Crown wants to ask the court to keep an accused in jail while awaiting his or her trial, a show cause or bail hearing is held. Because of the presumption of innocence, courts do not like to lock up an accused before he or she has been found guilty. However, this can be done in certain circumstances. The court that considers the matter has to follow the procedure set out in the Criminal Code. This procedure involves the court looking at what is called the primary ground and the secondary ground. The primary ground involves the question of whether it is necessary to detain or remand the accused until his or her trial in order to make sure that he or she shows up for his or her trial. This ground comes into play most frequently when the accused lives in another province or country and might not come back to the jurisdiction in which he or she is to be tried, or when his or her criminal record shows that he or she has a history of not going to court when required to do so. Criminal Code, 1996, section 515.

Any adoption which is not a custom adoption. The law with respect to private adoption is contained in the Child Welfare Act, 1988, R.S.N.W.T., c. C-6, Part V. Important differences between private and custom adoption include the necessity of approval of the proposed adoption by the Superintendent of Child Welfare following a home study of the prospective parents. See Adoption, Native Custom Adoption.

Private Law: ᓇᒻᒥᓂᕆᔭᓄᑦ ᒪᓕᒐᖅ: namminirijanut maligaq: Droit privé

Taken to mean law that deals with disputes between individuals, or individuals and corporations. That is, law that does not directly involve the government as a party to the case, unlike administrative, constitutional, and criminal law, which constitute public law.

A provision in a law that limits the power of courts to review the decision of an administrative agency. The law says that the decisions of a particular tribunal are not to be reviewed in any legal proceeding. They are very common in labour relations law, as a way of keeping certain kinds of disputes outside the court system and to promote finality in the decisions of tribunals. They are also known as preclusive clauses.

A basic principle of contract law that says the only people who have obligations or an enforceable right to benefit under a contract are the people who were originally involved in the contract as parties.

A will is required to be probated after someone dies, which means that it is proved to be the true last will and testament of a dead person, and that its provisions are valid. The original will is kept in a registry. A copy of the will plus a certificate saying it has been proved is given to the executor and called the probate of the will. Probate is conclusive proof that the will is valid and the executor has the right to do his or her job.

A court order, in criminal cases, directed towards an accused who has been found guilty of an offence, requiring him or her to keep the peace and be of good behaviour and, usually, imposing on him or her other conditions as well, such as community service work. A probation order may be made where sentence is suspended (that is, where the accused is not sent to jail), or it may follow a jail term that does not exceed two years. Criminal Code, 1996, section 731.

Under the Young Offenders Act, a report prepared by the custodial authorities on a young person who was committed to custody, for the assistance of the Youth Court where the young person's disposition is being reviewed by the court. Young Offenders Act, section 28.

The administrative law remedy whereby a public agency or official is ordered by a court not to proceed in an action or decision, because to do so would be unfair or outside the powers granted to it by statute.

The branch of law dealing with ownership of land and things. A complex area of the law, especially where land is concerned, the understanding of which is greatly assisted by some knowledge of early English history.

The lawyer who conducts a criminal case for the Crown. See definition in Criminal Code, 1996, section 2. See Crown, Crown Counsel.

Provocation: ᐱᓚᕿᑎᑦᓯᓇᓱᐊᕐᓂᖅ: pilaqititnasuarniq: Provocation

The conduct of a person, including, but not limited to, blows, words and gestures, that tends to excite feelings of anger in another person. It is a limited defence in the law of murder, capable of reducing the crime of murder to manslaughter. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 36, 232.

See Psychological Assessment. A psychological report is simply the report that is made following an assessment.

Psychologist: ᐃᓱᒪᓕᕆᔨ/ᓂᐊᖁᓕᕆᔨ: isumaliriji/niaquliriji: Psychologue

A scientist who studies the human mind. Some psychologists do work very similar to that done by psychiatrists, but, unlike psychiatrists, are not medical doctors. Psychiatrists and psychologists, in criminal cases, often work as a team.

A very important public official in the Northwest Territories. Usually a lawyer, he or she helps in the proper disposition of the estates of those who die without leaving a will, looks after the property of minors where there is no one else to do this, looks after the property of mentally incompetent people where there is no one else to do it and does other similar things where required by the Act or by a judge of the Supreme Court. Public Trustee Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. P-19.

In the Northwest Territories, a board established under the Public Utilities Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. P-20, which decides what organization may produce and deliver electricity or natural gas to the public.

See Accident. A pure accident would be an accident for which no one is to blame in any way, in which no one was negligent.

Q

Qualifications: ᐊᔪᓐᖏᓐᓂᕆᔭᖏᑦ: ajunnginnirijangit: Compétences

That which qualifies a person to do or be something. A very broad term that would include everything from high school graduation to various degrees of specialized training. The basic qualifications for an English-Inuktitut interpreter, for example, would be fluency in those two languages. In the law of evidence, this term is used when a party wants an expert witness to give opinion evidence. Before the expert can give such evidence, he or she must be qualified. This means that the court will hear details of the witness's training in the area in which he or she has been called to give opinion evidence. If satisfied that the witness is qualified in that area, the court will then allow him or her to give his or her opinion evidence. If the court is not satisfied that the prospective witness has the necessary qualifications, he or she will not be allowed to give opinion evidence.

A declaration by the court that the information is invalid. If the information is invalid (for example, if it has not been sworn), the case cannot proceed; the Crown would have to begin the process over again.

A person who has the right of possession of real estate also has an unwritten right to quiet enjoyment of it. If their quiet enjoyment is significantly disturbed, they may have a right to take legal action for damages against a person who is creating a nuisance. For example, if a landlord is persistently frightening tenants or does work that destabilizes the foundations of a building, that interferes with the right to quiet enjoyment.

R

An application by the Crown or by a young person, in Youth Court, asking the Youth Court judge to move a case out of Youth Court into ordinary, or adult court. This is most often done by the Crown when a young person under the age of 18 is charged with a serious crime like murder. The purpose of the Crown in such a case is to seek a higher penalty than those available in Youth Court. Young Offenders Act, section 16.

Rape: ᑯᔭᖕᓂᖅ ᑯᔭᒃᑕᐅᔪᒪᙱᑦᑐᒥᒃ: kujangniq kujaktaujumanngittumik: Viol

Rape is a term that is commonly understood to mean being forced to have sexual intercourse against your will. Rape was formerly a criminal offence but no longer; what used to be called rape is now called sexual assault.

Often, where there is no dispute between the lawyers on evidence, it is unnecessary to call a witness to give that evidence. In such cases, the lawyers simply state the evidence to the judge or the jury. Where an accused pleads guilty, which is probably about 80-90% of the time, the facts of the case are usually recited by the Crown and no witnesses are called at all.

In court orders dealing with the custody of children, the parent who does not have custody usually is granted reasonable access to the child or children. Reasonable access does not always mean the same thing; it will vary from situation to situation. However, a common example might involve the parent without custody having the child or children every other weekend and for a number of weeks in the summer.

Reasonable Doubt: ᓇᓗᓇᐸᓗᑦᑐᖅ: nalunapaluttuq: Doute raisonnable

It is a fundamental principle of the criminal law that, to obtain a finding of guilt against an accused, the Crown must prove its accusation beyond a reasonable doubt. When a court, whether it be a judge alone or a judge with a jury, has such a doubt, it must acquit the accused. The law does not require the court to be absolutely certain, but sure in its conscience that the evidence called by the Crown proves its allegation beyond a reasonable doubt. Judges sometimes describe a reasonable doubt as an honest and fair doubt, not a trivial or frivolous doubt that an irresponsible juror might come up with to avoid the unpleasant duty of making a finding of guilt.

The party that begins a case, i.e., the Crown in a criminal case and the plaintiff in a civil case, calls evidence first. If the other party calls evidence, it does so after the first party has called all its evidence. Depending on the evidence called by the second party, the first party may call evidence again in reply to the evidence of the second party. This is called rebuttal or reply evidence. Theoretically, the first party can call further evidence again, called sur-rebuttal.

There are three principal circumstances in which a jury might be re-charged.

As has been explained in charge the jury, the judge explains to the jury the law that is applicable to the case before it after all the evidence has been heard and the lawyers have made their submissions to the jury. After this has been done and the jury goes to the room where it deliberates, the judge asks the lawyers if they want him or her to say anything else to the jury. If one or both of them do, and the judge agrees, he or she will call the jury back and re-charge it on the points that were discussed in the jury's absence.

Often the jury has a question when it is deliberating. This question is sent to the judge in written form; the judge will call the jury back and recharge it on the question it has raised.

A jury verdict in Canada, in a criminal trial, has to be unanimous. When the jury is unable to agree, it comes back to the courtroom and tells the judge. Before dismissing the jury and declaring a mistrial, the judge will often re-charge the jury with a special charge in which he or she tells the jury that its members are probably just as able to reach a verdict as any other jury and asks would they please try one more time to reach a verdict.

Reckless: ᐊᑦᑕᕐᓈᕿᑎᑦᑎᓂᖅ: attarnaaqitittiniq: Insouciant/téméraire

See Intent, Intention, Mens Rea, Actus Reus. To commit a crime, one must have the intention to do the act which is prohibited. Thus, taking an item from a store and not paying for it is not a crime if one simply forgot to pay. It is the crime of theft only if one deliberately avoided paying. In the latter circumstance, we can say that the person had the intention to deprive the store of its property. The mens rea of theft is therefore present as well as the actus reus of taking the item that did not belong to the person. Since both the mens rea and the actus reus are present, a crime has been committed. In some crimes, a person may not desire the consequences of his or her act but can see there is risk to what he or she is doing and consciously takes that risk. In such a case, the mens rea of the offence consists of recklessness. Consider, for example, the case of a man who, in a rage, attacks another man in a crowded room. He is trying to stab A but misses and stabs B, who dies. He can be guilty of murder because, although he did not intend to kill B, and in fact killed
B by accident, his behaviour was so reckless that it satisfied the requirement of intention.

Recognizance: ᐱᓂᐊᕐᓂᐅᔭᕆᐊᖃᖅᓯᒪᔪᑦ: piniarniujariaqaqsimajut: Engagement

A technical word that simply refers to one of the procedures whereby a person is released from custody, before trial, by a police officer or a court. Sometimes it involves the accused or a surety paying money that will be returned when he or she has appeared for his or her trial, or agreeing to pay money if he or she does not appear for his or her trial. Like an undertaking. Criminal Code, 1996, Part XVI.

Recommendation: ᐊᑐᓕᖁᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᖅ: atuliqujausimajuq: Recommandation

The act of suggesting that it would be a good idea to do something or to employ a person, accept him or her as a student, etc.

Re-Election: ᓂᕈᐊᒃᑲᓐᓂᕐᓂᖅ: niruakkannirniq: Ré-option

See Election. It has been seen that an accused, in most indictable offences, has the choice of which court he or she wants to be tried in, Territorial Court, Supreme Court with a jury or Supreme Court without a jury. Often, the accused later wishes to change his or her original choice. He or she wants to re-elect. In some circumstances, he or she can do this as of right. In other words, he or she does not need anyone else's agreement. In other circumstances, the consent of the Crown is required. Criminal Code, 1996, section 561.

See Examination In Chief, Cross-Examination, Direct Evidence. A witness is first questioned by the lawyer who called him or her. This is called examination-in-chief or direct examination. The witness may then be cross-examined by the lawyer for the opposing side. Following that, if anything new arises in the cross-examination, the witness can be re-examined by the lawyer who called him or her, but only on the new points that arose in cross-examination.

Occasionally a witness may be so unwilling to co-operate that he or she refuses to take the oath or make the affirmation required of all witnesses. Such a person would be in contempt of court and could be put in jail until he or she decides to cooperate.

See Refusing To Be Sworn. On occasion, a reluctant witness refuses to answer the questions put to him or her. This usually happens when the witness does not want the accused to be found guilty or where the witness is afraid of the accused or of some other person who will be angry because the witness gave evidence. This situation is not uncommon in spousal assault trials and cases involving organized crime. The witness can be locked up until he or she agrees to give evidence. In criminal cases, the Crown sometimes just gives up and, if the evidence of the witness is crucial, the case comes to an end and the accused goes free.

Where a peace officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a person has committed the offence of driving a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol within the preceding two hours, he or she may demand that the person submit to a breathalyzer test. Unless the person has a reasonable excuse to refuse this demand, he or she commits an offence for which the penalties are the same as those for impaired driving itself. Criminal Code, 1996, section 254(3) & (5).

A public official responsible for maintaining records of births, marriages and deaths in the Northwest Territories.

Regulation: ᒐᕙᒪᓄᑦ ᒪᓕᒃᑕᐅᔭᕆᐊᓖᑦ: gavamanut maliktaujarialiit: Règlement

Rules of general application made by right of a power that has been delegated by the Legislature to the Cabinet, a minister, or even some administrative agencies. They usually set out matters too detailed or quickly-changing to be put into a law or statute; regulations are easier to change than law. For example, Hospital Standards Regulations, Fisheries Regulations setting out quotas.

A type of administrative agency which has the rule-making power and which is charged with responsibility under a statute for the administration of a particular Act or portion of it. e.g., the Nunavut Wildlife Regulation Board has the authority to determine the total allowable harvest of certain species of wild animals. These rules apply to everyone in Nunavut.

A very general word for the way that a court will allow a right to be enforced, or will try to prevent some violation of rights. It can also refer to an action taken by a court to make up for the negative consequences of an injury where someone can be held responsible (i.e., torts). The most common remedy is damages, but there are other kinds including administrative law remedies, and specific performance. See also Relief.

Remorse: ᐅᒡᒍᐊᕐᓂᖅ: ugguarniq: Remords

The emotion of regret or sorrow, felt by a person, for a wrong thing that person has done. In criminal cases, where the court believes an accused is remorseful, it may impose a more lenient sentence than in a case where it does not believe this to be so.

Rental1: ᐊᑐᖅᑐᐊᕐᓂᕐᒧᑦ ᐊᖏᖃᑎᒌᒍᑎ: atuqtuarnirmut angiqatigiiguti: Bail

A legal agreement between a landlord and a tenant. Such agreements, where residential tenancies are concerned (i.e. tenancies where a person rents a house or an apartment to live in rather than to work in or run a business), generally have to comply with the Residential Tenancies Act. Commercial rental agreements are less subject to regulation.

A person appointed by the government whose duty is to encourage landlords and tenants to attempt to resolve their disputes themselves. Residential Tenancies Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, sections 72 & 73.

Reply: ᑭᐅᓯᓂᖅ: kiusiniq: Réplique

In court hearings, each lawyer is given an opportunity to make submissions on his or her case to the judge. The lawyer who speaks first is entitled to an opportunity to speak again, in reply, after the second lawyer has spoken, concerning issues raised by the second lawyer that he or she did not address the first time.

Repudiate: ᖁᔭᓈᖅᓯᓂᖅ: qujanaaqsiniq: Refuser d'honorer (un contrat)

In contract, where one of the parties to the contract refuses to honour his or her side of the bargain.

A person, not born in Canada, who wants to become a citizen with full rights to work and participate in the politics of the country, must meet certain requirements of residency and is required by law to show an understanding of the responsibilities of citizenship, which are not detailed, but include loyalty to the Queen, obedience to the laws of the country, and a willingness to fulfill certain duties. Citizenship Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-29.

Restitution involves the restoration to a person who has lost property that property which he or she lost or money of equivalent value. In criminal law, an accused who has stolen or in some other criminal manner caused property loss to another is often ordered to make restitution to the victim. This may be a condition of a probation order, or it may be ordered in a restitution order. A court also has the power to order that a person's property, which has been taken from him or her by crime, be returned to him or her even if no one has been found guilty of taking it, provided it is not needed for evidence. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 491.1, 732.1, 738.

Two terms, one French and the other Latin, meaning the same thing, namely a summary of a person's personal circumstances, academic or vocational qualifications and work experience, prepared usually for the review of a prospective employer or educational institution where the author of the résumé hopes to study.

See Onus Of Proof. In criminal law, it is usually the Crown that has to show that an accused should be deprived of his or her liberty. There are exceptions to this rule. Where an accused has been charged with a very serious offence such as murder or trafficking in narcotics, he or she will be remanded or detained in custody before his or her trial, unless he or she can persuade a court that he or she should be released. This is called reverse onus. Where an accused was released on bail for a less serious offence and then breaches one of the conditions of his or her release and is arrested again, he or she puts himself or herself in a reverse onus situation. Criminal Code, 1996, Part XVI.

One of the components of the charge to the jury in a jury trial. The judge summarizes for the jury why the Crown says the accused should be found guilty and why the defence says he or she should be found not guilty.

One of the components of the charge to the jury in a jury trial. The judge surveys the evidence of the case in summary form for the benefit of the jury. He or she usually points out to the jury, when he or she does this, that it is the jury's recollection of the evidence that is important and that, if the jury does not agree with his or her summary of the evidence, it is expected to act on its own recollection. Twelve people, who often understand both Inuktitut and English, are usually better able to remember the evidence than one judge who only understands English.

Revoke: ᐊᑐᕈᓐᓃᖅᑎᑦᓯᓂᖅ ᐅᑎᖅᑎᑦᑐᒍ: aturunniiqtitsiniq utiqtittugu: Révoquer

To cancel an earlier order or decision, or a right or privilege. Because he failed to return the books he had borrowed, his library privileges were revoked.

See Absolute Discharge, Conditional Discharge. Absolute and conditional discharges are tools that a court has to deal leniently with an accused who has perhaps only made one mistake. Where an accused, having been given such a chance by the court, then goes on to commit another offence shortly afterwards, the court has the power to revoke the discharge and register a criminal conviction against the accused instead. Criminal Code, 1996, section 730(4).

Generally, a young person under the age of 18 who has to be in custody is to be kept in a place apart from adult (over 18) offenders. This is not an absolute right; there are circumstances where both young persons and adults are kept in the same facility. Young Offenders Act, sections 16.1, 16.2.

Everyone has the right on arrest or detention to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right. These are the words of Section 10(b) of the Charter of Rights. They mean that a person who has been arrested has the right to consult with a lawyer without delay. The courts have considered this provision of the Charter many times. It is now clear that the police have a duty to make it possible for a person in this situation to contact a lawyer. Where the police effectively block a person's wish to consult with a lawyer (and this happens sometimes), the courts will often refuse to allow the Crown to use any statement obtained from an accused whose right to speak to a lawyer has been interfered with. See Police Warning.

Section 8, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, says that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure. The courts have reviewed this section extensively and the Supreme Court of Canada has said that a person in Canada has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Essentially, this means that the government, whether it is the police or Revenue Canada or some other government agency, cannot enter a person's home or read a person's mail or otherwise investigate a person's affairs unless it is authorized to do so by the person or by a law or by a court that gives the government agency a search warrant to do so. See also Seizure.

See Police Warning. An adult accused has the right, on arrest or detention, to consult with a lawyer without delay, and to be informed of that right. A young person has the same right and also some additional rights. First, where a young person is arrested or detained, the police are required to tell one of his or her parents, as soon as possible, that the young person has been arrested, why he or she has been arrested, and where he or she is. Second, if the police want to obtain a statement from the young person, they must advise him or her in terms he or she can understand that he or she does not have to give them a statement, what use can be made of a statement, that he or she can consult with a lawyer or with a parent or other adult relative or friend before making a statement. Young Offenders Act, sections 9, 11, 56.

Robbery is theft with violence. People frequently speak of having been robbed when they mean their house has been broken into or that something has been stolen from them. Strictly speaking they have not been robbed because there was no violence. Robbery is a very serious criminal offence carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Criminal Code, 1996, section 344.

Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985 version. Every ten or more years, all the laws that have been passed by the Parliament of Canada, and any amendments to the laws, are assembled into one collection, and listed in alphabetical order. The most recent version, or revision, was in 1985. Each act is considered a "chapter" of the revised statutes, and has a specific number that allows it to be found. So, for example, the Human Rights Act is c. H-6: "H" is the first letter of the title of the Act, and alphabetically, the Act is the sixth starting with H. This is a manner of "citing" legislation, so other people know exactly what law you are talking about.

Revised Statutes of the Northwest Territories, 1988 version. Every ten or more years, all the laws that have been passed by the Legislature of the Northwest Territories, and any amendments to the laws, are assembled into one collection, and listed in alphabetical order. Each act is considered a "chapter" of the revised statutes, and has a specific number that allows it to be found. So, for example, the Child Welfare Act is c. C-6: "C" is the first letter of the title of the Act, and in alphabetical order, the Act is the sixth starting with C.

The condition of being sane, of sound mind. Sanity was formerly a concept of criminal law. It was presumed that an accused was sane unless it was established that he or she was insane, in a technical legal sense, and therefore eligible for the verdict of "not guilty by reason of insanity." This area of criminal law is now governed by the law of mental disorder, which attempts to deal in a more satisfactory manner with the problem of accuseds who have mental disorders and commit what are normally considered to be crimes. Criminal Code, 1996, Part XX.I.

Satisfaction Piece: ᐱᔭᕇᖅᓯᒪᓂᕋᕈᑎ: pijariiqsimaniraruti: Quittance

A document that is filed with the court and any other official bodies like the land title office when a debt has been paid. When the satisfaction piece is filed, then the writ of execution is cancelled; no further action can be taken to collect the debt.

See Right To Privacy. As a general rule, peace officers and other government officials may not enter people's residences and places of work, or probe into their affairs and records unless they believe, on a reasonable basis, that doing so will reveal evidence of a crime. As a protection for the reasonable expectation of privacy that the law says we all have, the law often requires that such officials, before they make a search, obtain a search warrant from a judicial official (sometimes a justice of the peace, sometimes a judge of a higher court). This is an authorization by a judge, to the peace officer, to conduct a search. In order to obtain it, the peace officer has to first persuade the judge that he or she does have a proper basis to make a search. A search warrant, therefore, is a judicial control over police action.

See Primary Ground. In a bail or show cause hearing, in which a judge has to decide whether an accused is to be released or kept in custody while awaiting his or her trial, there are two steps the judge has to follow. First, he or she considers the primary ground. If he or she decides that it is not necessary to keep the accused in custody on that ground, he or she then proceeds to the next step which is the secondary ground. The question for the judge here is whether he or she thinks it is necessary for the accused to be kept in custody for the protection or safety of the public. The judge is trying to foresee whether the accused will commit another offence if he or she is released. Criminal Code, 1996, section 515(10)(b).

Murder is intentional homicide; it is divided into first degree murder and second degree murder. First degree murder is the more serious of the two categories. It is planned and deliberate. Second degree murder lacks the pre-meditation of the more serious offence. The main consequence for an accused convicted of murder is in the punishment. Both kinds of murder carry a minimum punishment of life imprisonment. A person convicted of second degree murder, may become eligible for parole after serving 10 years, whereas a person convicted of first degree murder only becomes eligible after serving 25 years. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 229, 230, 231, 235.

This refers to section 9(2) of the Canada Evidence Act. As a rule, the lawyer who calls a witness expects that witness to give evidence that supports the case the lawyer is arguing. Often, the witness has spoken to the lawyer or someone working with him or her before the trial and has made a statement which has been written down. It is normal procedure for Crown witnesses to have made such statements. It happens frequently, however, that the witness gives evidence that is inconsistent with, different from, what he or she said in his or her statement. When this happens, the lawyer can ask the judge for permission to cross-examine the witness on his or her statement. Usually a lawyer is not allowed to cross-examine his or her own witness. This is an exception to that rule.

A payment of money made by a tenant to a landlord at the beginning of a tenancy. It is intended to be security for the landlord in case the tenant causes damage to the house or apartment during his or her occupancy. If the tenant leaves the building in the same condition as he or she entered it he or she is supposed to get his or her money back.

When a judge is appointed, he or she has security of tenure until death or the mandatory retirement age. A judge cannot be fired like other employees unless, after a careful process, he or she is found to have been guilty of some very bad behaviour. This exceptional job security is thought to be important in order to protect judges from political interference. Thus, even if the Minister of Justice would like to see a particular judge fired, he or she cannot do anything about it unless the judge does something quite outrageous.

Seizure: ᐱᖁᑎᒋᔭᒥ ᐊᖅᓵᖅᓯᓂᖅ: piqutigijami aqsaaqsiniq: Saisie

When police conduct an investigation, they are looking for evidence. Evidence comes in various forms. In one case, the evidence might be the statement of the accused. In another, for example a drug case, it might be cannabis. If the police found cannabis, they would seize it. In other words, they would take it away and keep it safe until a trial. Illegal substances seized in this way are usually destroyed after a trial. But it is not only illegal substances that are seized. If my television set is stolen and discovered in the house of a suspected thief, that too would be seized. I might not get it back until after the trial.

Self-Defence: ᓴᐳᑎᓂᖅ: saputiniq: Légitime défense

A defence in criminal law. Where a person is accused, for example, of murder, and he or she says that he or she only did what he or she had to do to protect himself or herself from the deceased, we say that he or she pleads self-defence. But there is a very important limitation to this defence. That is that the force used in self-defence must be only what is reasonably necessary for one's protection. When a fight is taking place, it is not always possible to do only so much as is necessary and the law recognizes this too. Fights are frightening and people acting in fear may overreact. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42.

It often happens that an accused says that he or she is guilty of the offence with which he or she is charged but does not agree with all of the allegations of the Crown. For example, an accused is charged with sexual assault against a person. Both the accused and the person (the victim) agree that the accused forced the victim to engage in unwanted sexual activity. But the victim says that this activity involved sexual intercourse, whereas the accused says it did not get that far. This is a significant difference and could affect the sentence. A sentencing hearing is held. This is just like a trial and the Crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that sexual intercourse did take place. If the Crown cannot prove this, the sentence will be on the basis of the version of the accused.

The act of a couple stopping to live together without further intention to continue in a relationship. Usually, for legal purposes, the couple in question were in a statutory or a common-law marriage. Separation has a number of important legal consequences: for most divorces, the requirement is that the couple live separate and apart for one year before applying for a divorce. For purposes of division of property, family property which can be divided is usually calculated at the separation date. Other important issues, like the custody of the children, also have to be determined at the time of separation. Divorce Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. D-; Domestic Relations Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. D-8.

An agreement between two people in a statutory or common-law marriage that deals with issues relating to the break-up, including maintenance, division of property, custody and access rights for children. Courts may consider separation agreements but are not required to enforce them if they think the agreement is unfair or bad for the children.

After a jury has heard all the evidence, the speeches of the lawyers and the charge, it is kept together and apart from other people until it makes a decision. We say then that the jury is sequestered.

In the practice of law, there are many documents that have to be given to various people involved in cases before the courts. Witnesses have to be given subpoenas ordering them to attend court at a certain time. Sometimes an accused has to be given a notice of intention to seek greater penalty, or the plaintiff has to give the defendant a copy of the statement of claim. Jurors have to be given the summons that tell them they have to attend court on a certain day to be available for jury duty and so on. This giving of documents is referred to as service; the person who gives the document, often a peace officer, is said to serve the document. Thus, to serve an application is just one example among many of the giving of a court document by one party to another.

To abuse means to use in a bad way. Sexual abuse, therefore, means to use sexually in a bad way. If the abuse is criminal, the charge would be sexual assault or one of the other sexual offences contained in the Criminal Code. There is not a criminal offence specifically called sexual abuse.

Any activity of a sexual nature. In criminal law, the term is often used in sexual cases when the court is asked to decide whether any reference can be made to sexual activity other than the incident in the actual charge. For example, A is accused of sexually assaulting B on a certain day at a certain place. A tells his or her lawyer that he or she and B used to have a consensual, or agreed upon, sexual relationship and that what happened on the occasion for which he or she is charged was just the same as what used to happen. Can evidence of the previous sexual activity be put before the jury? This cannot be done unless the judge allows it. Criminal Code, 1996, section 276. See Sexual Reputation.

Sexual Assault: ᖁᓄᔪᕐᓂᐊᕐᓂᖅ: qunujungniarniq: Agression sexuelle

An assault of a sexual nature. A criminal offence carrying a maximum punishment of 10 years. Criminal Code, 1996, section 271.

A sexual assault in which a weapon is used. A criminal offence carrying a maximum punishment of 14 years. If the weapon used in such an assault is a firearm, there is a minimum punishment of 4 years. Criminal Code, 1996, section 272.

A sexual assault in which the person committing the assault threatens to cause bodily harm to a person other than the complainant: for example, where the accused forces the complainant to have sex with him or her by threatening to harm his or her child if he or she refuses. A criminal offence carrying a maximum punishment of 14 years. Criminal Code, 1996, section 272.

Before the law was changed, in recent times, defence lawyers were allowed to ask questions of complainants in sex offence cases about their sexual activities with people other than the accused. This was because it was believed by many that a woman who had many sexual partners, or who was a prostitute, was more likely to have consented to the sexual activity which was the subject of the charge against the accused, or was less worthy of belief as a witness. This was called evidence of sexual reputation. Defence lawyers are no longer permitted to cross-examine complainants on this issue, except in limited circumstances which the trial judge carefully inquires into before deciding whether these kinds of questions can be asked. Criminal Code, 1996, section 276.

Sheriff: ᐸᓖᓯᖑᐊᖅ: paliisinguaq: Shérif/huissier

The sheriff is an official of the court who has responsibilities for enforcing orders of the court. Where, for example, A has taken B to court for the nonpayment of a debt, and the court has given judgment in favour of A, A can then register this judgment with the Office of the sheriff. The effect of doing this is to ensure that, whenever any money is recovered from B, who may have a number of judgments registered against him or her, A will obtain at least some of it.

A certificate that can be issued by the sheriff of a court to someone who is a creditor with a judgment from a court saying that they are owed money. The certificate tells the creditor whether there are other people who are also owed money and who may have a right to claim from the debtor. May also be called, officially, a certificate of subsisting execution.

Also called a jury summons. The document by which people who have been called to be selected for service on a jury are notified that they must appear in court. It is issued directly by the sheriff's office and given directly to the person. Jury Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. J-2.

A court, usually the Territorial Court, in which claims under $5,000 can be made. The procedures are simplified and designed so that claimants can conduct their cases themselves, without the (often expensive) assistance of lawyers.

See Access. Very often, when a court orders access to children in favour of the parent who does not have custody of the children, it simply orders reasonable access, leaving it to the parents to work out the details of time and place of access. Sometimes, however, the order will specify these details, resulting in a specific access order.

When a court orders a person to do what they promised or contracted to do. When there has been a breach of contract, the court can compensate the person who has not gotten what they expected either by money damages or by specific performance. The court is never required to grant specific performance as a remedy; it is most often given as a remedy in cases where there is a contract involving real estate. A court may order the owner of a house to transfer his or her rights of ownership of that house to another person, if he or she had previously agreed to do so. The purchaser gets the house itself, not just financial compensation.

More commonly, to be spoken to. Frequently, a case before the court is adjourned to a future date. Often this is for a particular purpose such as a trial or a preliminary inquiry. Just as often it is not yet clear what will be happening with the case but it is still before the court and it is adjourned to a future date to be spoken to. It is expected that decisions will have been made by that time as to how the case will be proceeding.

Also known as alimony or support. From the perspective of the law, when people are married, they form a single economic unit in which all the income and assets of the family belong equally to each partner. After marriage breakdown, it is usually the case that there is a significant difference in income between the partners. Where that happens, and a judge believes the differences in income result from the marriage (for example, if both parents wanted to have kids and the woman looked after them, which had a negative effect on her career), they can order the other partner to pay some income to the person with less money. These orders are almost always temporary.

In the law of tort, if a plaintiff wants to recover damages for an injury, he or she must (among other things) show that the conduct leading to the harm done results from a defendant failing to live up to a standard of care. In most cases, the standard of care is to do what an imaginary "reasonable person" (not the judge, or the particular parties, or even an angel) would do in the same situation. A person is thought to have created an unreasonable risk of harm and to have failed to meet the standard of care if they did less than a reasonable person. So, for example, a reasonable person would check to see if there was someone there before backing up the truck. If they did not check, they would not have met the standard of care. If someone was hit and injured, this failure likely means the person will be found responsible. See Duty Of Care, Negligence, Contributorily Negligent.

See Reasonable Doubt, Balance Of Probabilities. These are the two standards of proof in the Canadian legal system. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard of proof in criminal matters and proof on a balance of probabilities is the standard of proof in civil matters. A striking example of the practical effect of these different standards is to be found in the criminal and civil trials of O.J. Simpson. In the criminal trial, where the standard is so high, Simpson was found not guilty. In the civil trial, where the jury only had to be persuaded of his or her responsibility for the murders on a balance of probabilities, Simpson was found to be responsible.

A procedure in the selection of a jury where a potential juror is not selected the first time he or she comes forward but, instead of being sent away, is required to wait in case he or she is picked the second time around. Called variously stand aside and stand by. Criminal Code, 1996, section 633.

Statement: ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ: uqausiq: Déclaration

A broad term referring to what a person says about something. In legal practice, it is customary to talk to witnesses before they are called to court to testify and to have them write out, or have someone else write out for them, that which they can say about some event that will be considered by a court.

When one or the other of the lawyers in a case needs to put certain evidence before the court and the other side is not going to contest that evidence, it is possible to put the evidence before the court without calling a witness. Evidence called in this way is by admission. A statement of admissions is simply a list of the evidence introduced in this way. For example, imagine a case where it is necessary for the Crown to prove that A was in Yellowknife on a certain day. The defence has made inquiries and knows that A was in Yellowknife on that day. Unless the defence is prepared to admit this, the Crown is going to have to bring A from Vancouver, where he now lives, to Iqaluit, to testify at a trial. This would be an unnecessary waste of time and money. A sensible defence lawyer will simply admit this piece of evidence and save the system the expense of flying the witness across the country.

Law that is made by Parliament or the Legislature. An Act of Parliament or an Act of the Legislature is a statute. Statute law is different from common law, which is judge-made law. When statute law and common law conflict, statute law prevails. See Codification, Common Law, Act.

The Crown has the power to bring criminal proceedings to a stop at any time before judgment. This is called a stay of proceedings. The law allows the Crown to start the prosecution up again within one year. Criminal Code, 1996, section 579.

Strangulation: ᕿᒥᓴᐃᓂᖅ: qimisainiq: Étranglement/suffocation

The cutting off of the windpipe by compressing the neck with a rope or similar device. Death by strangulation results from hanging, although hanging often is designed to break the neck also.

An insurer's right to sue a person with whom they have no contract, if that person has done something which obliges the insurer to pay out on a policy with an insured person. e.g., if an insured person is hit by a speeding car and injured, his or her insurance company has a right to sue the driver because they had to pay for the care of the insured person.

A relatively minor type of offences. Where an accused is charged with such an offence he or she does not have the right to be tried by a jury. On the other hand, he or she is liable to a lower range of punishments than is the case where he or she is charged with an indictable offence. Some offences can only be proceeded with by summary conviction. But in many instances, the Crown decides, at the beginning of a prosecution, whether the matter will be proceeded with summarily or by indictment. This is one of many considerable powers that Parliament has invested in the Crown. See Dual Procedure/Hybrid Offences, Indictment, Election (Crown).

An order under the authority of the Child Welfare Act where a child in need of protection is allowed to remain in his or her own home but may be visited, and the parents supervised, by a social worker acting with the authority of the Superintendent of Child Welfare.

Support: ᑮᓇᐅᔭᑎᒍᑦ ᐃᑲᔪᖅᑕᐅᓂᖅ: kiinaujatigut ikajuqtauniq: Aliments

A broad term usually indicating financial support provided by one spouse to another or the children, or by a parent to a child or the other way around. Support might be ordered by a court or it may be done by agreement.

A schedule of cases to be heard by the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. There are two lists, the criminal list and the civil list. These lists are usually posted in the courthouses of the NWT.

Canada's highest court and final court of appeal. This court consists of 9 judges and sits in Ottawa. The Supreme Court building is situated next to the Parliament buildings. The judges are drawn from across the country.

The highest trial court in the NWT. All jury trials are heard in this court. The judges of the Supreme Court of the NWT are appointed by the federal Minister of Justice, while the judges of the Territorial Court are appointed by the Territorial Minister of Justice. This court also hears appeals in summary conviction matters. Appeals in indictable matters are heard by the Court of Appeal for the NWT. The judges of the Supreme Court are also judges of the Court of Appeal but, of course, they do not sit on appeals in cases where they were the judges at trial.

A surety is a person who is not an accused, but is willing to guarantee in some form that he or she will be responsible for ensuring that an accused, who would otherwise be kept in custody prior to his or her trial, will appear for his or her trial and will stay out of trouble before his or her trial. Usually, a surety puts money in the court which he or she could lose if he or she does not take his or her responsibility seriously. The surety has his or her money to protect and so will be inclined to make sure that the accused abides by the conditions of his or her release.

Under the Canada Pension Plan, when a person was married to someone who has died who contributed to the plan, they are still entitled to receive part of the pension their spouse earned unless they violate certain conditions, for example, if they remarry.

A suspended sentence is a sentence that is imposed in a case where the offender might have been sent to jail but instead is released on the conditions contained in a probation order. If the offender, while on probation, commits another offence, there is a procedure whereby he or she can be brought back to court and sent to jail instead. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 731, 732.2.

An American term, but understood in Canada. It refers to the decision of a judge, when asked to rule on the admissibility of a piece of evidence, agreeing with the lawyer that submitted that the evidence was inadmissible.

T

An order under the authority of the Child Welfare Act whereby a child is taken from his or her usual home and placed in a foster home, but temporarily, and in the hope that the situation will be improved so that the child can be returned to his or her own home.

Tenancy: ᐊᑐᖅᑐᐊᕐᓂᖅ: atuqtuarniq: Tenure à bail/location

The agreement between a landlord and a tenant concerning the occupation by the Tenant of the Landlord's property. The condition of occupying property in this way.

(Also called ownership in common, though that is not a correct term). Where two people own a property together, sharing a right of possession but with otherwise separate shares in the property. A tenant in common may sell his or her interest in property while the other person keeps his or her share. After death, the tenant in common's share in the property goes to his or her regular heirs, rather than automatically belonging to the co-owners. Compare with Joint Tenancy.

Terminate: ᓄᖅᑲᖅᑎᑦᑎᔪᖅ: nuqqaqtittijuq: Mettre fin

Bring to an end.

Termination Of Offer: ᖁᔭᓈᖅᓯᓂᖅ: qujanaaqsiniq: Fin de l'offre

There is no contract without offer and acceptance. An offer only lasts so long as the person making it is willing to enter into a contract on the terms they have proposed. When an offer can no longer be accepted, we call that termination of offer; it may be a defined date or simply the passing of a reasonable amount of time.

Also known as small claims court. Where there is a civil matter dealing with an amount of money less than $5,000, it can be heard in Territorial Court, and the court can make an order or judgment. Cases where larger amounts of money are at stake must be held in the Supreme Court.

A department of the Government of the Northwest Territories with a wide range of responsibilities for legal matters in the NWT. It is important to distinguish between the Territorial Department of Justice and the Federal Department of Justice in the NWT, because it is the federal department that represents the Crown in all criminal matters in the NWT. In the provinces this is not the case.

One of the main objectives of cross-examination is the testing of credibility, or believability, of witnesses. Under the pressure of adversarial questioning, a witness's credibility is tested. If his or her evidence is weak the cross-examination will show this; if it is strong, cross-examination often enhances the credibility of the witness.

Theft under $5,000. Theft under $5,000 is a dual procedure/hybrid offence. The Crown, therefore, may elect to proceed by indictment. If the Crown does so elect, however, the offence is an absolute jurisdiction offence and the accused does not have the right to trial by jury. Criminal Code, 1996, section 334(b).

When a person is punished by a fine, the court that imposes the fine is required by law to set out clearly the time by which the fine must be paid. Criminal Code, 1996, section 734.1.

Tort: ᐱᔭᕆᐊᓕᒥᓂᒃ ᖄᖏᓐᓈᕆᔪᖅ: pijarialiminik qaanginnaarijuq: Délits civils

In early English, the word meant "wrong." Now it refers to any wrongdoings in private law (other than breach of contract) than can be compensated by the payment of damages. Tort liability exists mainly to compensate someone who has been injured by forcing a wrongdoer to pay for what he or she has done. The law of torts is based on the relationships between individuals. There are two main branches: intentional torts (which deal with forcible direct injuries) and negligence (where harmful conduct results from carelessness not planning).

The criminal offence of distributing in various manners any of the substances listed in the schedule to the Narcotics Control Act. This offence carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. Narcotics Control Act, section 4(2).

Transcript: ᐃᖅᑲᖅᑐᐃᔾᔪᑎᕕᓂᖅ: iqqaqtuijjutiviniq: Transcription

The written record of exactly what was said, usually in a court. What is said in court is usually captured by a court reporter using one of several methods. If there is an appeal, or if a record of what was said in the court is needed for any other reason, a transcript is ordered; it becomes possible to read exactly what was said.

Traumatized: ᐊᒃᓱᕈᖅᑎᑕᐅᔪᖅ: aksuruqtitaujuq: Traumatisé

The condition of being affected by an event in an injurious way. A person may be traumatized physically or psychologically.

Historically, the generic name for intentional torts, that is, civil legal actions which were intended to provide a remedy to someone who has suffered a forcible injury to themselves or to their property. Trespass could include battery (intentionally bringing about harmful or offensive contact with someone); false imprisonment (forcibly keeping somone in captivity); and trespass to land. Trespass to land can include any intentional interference with another person's possession of land, or can be the remedy for any material damage suffered by someone occupying land when another person undertakes activities on it. For example, if someone has the right to my land, I can sue them for trespass to land if they do not clean up their waste products properly.

Chattels are property other than real estate. Trespass to chattels and conversion are technical terms describing torts of interfering wrongfully with other people's property.

Trial: ᐃᖅᑲᖅᑐᕐᑕᐅᓂᖅ: iqqaqturtauniq: Procès

The process whereby a criminal complaint or a civil dispute is placed before a court for that court to decide the issues between the parties. The popular view of a trial is that part of the overall process that involves the courtroom, and people professionally involved with the courts use the word in this way too. It can also be used to describe the entire process from charge to conviction or acquittal in the criminal context, and similarly in the civil context.

The date on which a trial is scheduled to occur. Trial dates in the Territorial Court or Justice of the Peace Court, are usually set when the accused enters a plea of not guilty. In the Supreme Court, there is a meeting every month or so between a judge of that court, a Crown attorney and lawyers who have clients awaiting trial in the Supreme Court. This is known as speaking to the Supreme Court list. It is just a scheduling session; cases that are ready for trial are given trial dates.

A trial de novo is ordered in some cases when a summary conviction case is appealed to the Supreme Court. It means that the trial is to start all over again. It is ordered when the record of the first trial is so deficient or the trial was so badly conducted that the appeal court cannot deal adequately with the case as an appeal. This is something that could happen when a trial in Justice of the Peace Court is taped, without a proper court reporter being present, and the tape is unintelligible. Criminal Code, 1996, section 822(4).

Tribunal: ᐋᖅᑭᒋᐊᒃᑲᐃᓂᖅ: aaqqigiakkainiq: Tribunal administratif

A word for any court or agency that is expected to make decisions in a judge-like way.

Of very slight importance and short duration. A term that might be used in the context of an assault causing bodily harm where it is alleged by the Crown that the bodily harm consists of a red mark on the skin. Such an injury would be too trifling and transitory to constitute bodily harm.

In the charge to the jury the judge always explains to the jury what is meant by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A common method of explaining what a reasonable doubt is, is to say that it is an honest and fair doubt, a real doubt. It is not a trivial or frivolous doubt such as an irresponsible juror might rely upon to avoid his or her duty to find the accused guilty where this is called for. A trivial or frivolous doubt is not a real doubt. See Reasonable Doubt.

Trustee: ᑮᓇᐅᔭᓕᕆᔨ: kiinaujaliriji: Curateur

See Trustee Of Funds. A person can be a trustee of various forms of property. He or she has control of the property but he or she is obliged by law (he or she can be paid for his or her services) to manage it and otherwise deal with it for the benefit of the real owner, the beneficiary, who might be a minor, or in some other manner incompetent.

A person who is responsible in law for the care and management of funds which are not his or hers. He or she must be very careful to manage them well for the beneficiary, or person to whom they do belong. If not, the law will hold the trustee accountable.

A trust relationship is one where the law imposes a duty on one of the persons in the relationship, usually the older person, to treat the other person in the relationship, who is in some way vulnerable or weak, or simply younger, with special care. A common example of such a relationship is that between a teacher and a student. An example of the special care that the law would require the teacher to take of the student would be in the area of sexual relationships. The age of consent for sexual relationships is 14. A 20-year-old person could legally have a sexual relationship with a person between the ages of 14 and 18. But if the 20-year-old person is the other person's teacher the law could regard him or her as having committed the offence of sexual exploitation. It is by no means only teachers who are in this situation. It applies to many others such as doctors, lawyers, social workers, babysitters, etc.Criminal Code, 1996, section 153.

U

Unanimous: ᑕᒪᒃᑭᖅᑐᑦ/ᐊᑕᖏᖅᑐᑦ: tamakkiqtuq/atangiqtut: Unanime

A word used of a decision in which all who make the decision agree. The verdict of a jury in a criminal trial in Canada must be unanimous. All 12 jurors must agree.

A promise to the court to appear in court when required to do so and to comply with any conditions imposed by the court in order to be released from custody before trial. Breach of undertaking is a criminal offence. Criminal Code, 1996, section 145(3).

A term used for a promise made by a lawyer to another lawyer or to a court to do something or not to do something. It is a serious matter for a lawyer to fail to honour his or her undertaking and new lawyers are often advised to think carefully before they enter into undertakings.

A person is unfit to stand trial who, because of mental disorder, is unable to understand the proceedings or its consequences, or to communicate with a lawyer. All others are fit to stand trial. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 2 & 672. See Fit To Stand Trial.

A person under the age of 14 or of limited mental capacity who does not understand the nature of an oath or solemn affirmation, but who is still able to communicate the evidence, may be permitted to give evidence on promising to tell the truth. Canada Evidence Act, section 16.

The Supreme Court of Canada, in recent years, has made it possible for unsworn evidence to be received by a court when the court is of the opinion that the unsworn evidence meets tests of necessity and reliability.

V

Of a dwelling or other building or premises: Left empty without an intention to return.

Of a court order: Cancelled or nullified. The judge vacated his or her previous order that the accused be arrested and the accused was released.

Vague: ᑐᑭᓯᓇᓗᐊᖏᑦᑐᖅ: tukisinnaluianngittuq: Vague/flou

Uncertain, without definition, unsure, without detail, unclear.

Valid: ᐱᓪᓚᕆᐅᔪᖅ: pillariujuq: Valide/valable

A valid contract or will is one which could be enforced in a court, because it is based on real agreement between people with legal capacity, because it has certain understandable terms, and because it is made without problems of fraud or pressure on the person making a contract or will.

Venue: ᐃᖅᑲᖅᑐᖅᑕᐅᕝᕕᒋᔭᖓ: iqqaqtuqtauvvigijanga: Lieu [du procès]

The place where a trial is held. Usually this is the place where the offence is alleged to have taken place. See Change Of Venue.

A fund for the assistance of victims of crime. There is legislation in the Northwest Territories for this, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. C-25. It has unfortunately been affected by government cutbacks.

A financial penalty imposed on offenders convicted of offences, in addition to any other penalty, according to a formula, which is supposed to be used by the Government to assist the victims of crime. Criminal Code, 1996, section 737.

Vital is a word that derives from the Latin word vita, which means life. Vital services are those public services which protect life in some way. These would include various medical services, fire department services, etc. Legislation often prohibits or limits the freedom of vital services workers from going on strike.

An important piece of NWT legislation providing for the registration of births, adoptions, changes of name, marriages and deaths. Vital Statistics Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. V-3.

Void: ᐊᑐᓐᖏᑐᖅ: atunngituq: Nul

A contract is void if, because of some fundamental problem in its creation, a court will say that it never really existed. In that case, it could not be enforced in a court. A contract to commit murder is always void because it requires someone to break the law.

A voir dire is often called "a trial within a trial." In the course of a trial, issues frequently arise, especially concerning what is admissible evidence, which have to be resolved before the trial can continue. The court holds an inquiry into the issue and makes a decision before the trial proper is resumed. In a jury trial, the jury is sent out of the courtroom until the judge has decided what to do. This ensures that, if it is not correct to admit the evidence being considered on the voir dire, the jury will not hear it. If it is correct to admit the evidence being considered it will be repeated in the presence of the jury. A common example of a voir dire is when the Crown wishes to enter into evidence a statement made to the police by the accused. The evidence of the police officers and, often, the accused concerning the circumstances under which the statement was given is first heard by the judge in the absence of the jury. If the judge decides that the statement meets the tests of the law, much of the evidence is then given all over again, but in the presence of the jury. If the judge decides the
statement does not meet these tests, the jury never hears it. See Police Warning.

A defence to a finding of negligence. If a plaintiff acts freely and knowingly in a relationship with the defendant which he or she knows to be dangerous, then the plaintiff has freed the defendant from their duty of care. The issue only arises after there has been a preliminary finding of wrongdoing.

Generally, a person cannot give evidence of what someone else said. This is called hearsay. However, the law makes an exception to this rule when a person makes an admission against his or her own interest. This rule applies in both civil and criminal cases. In criminal cases, such an admission must first be shown by the Crown to be voluntary. See Police Warning.

The state of being intoxicated by alcohol or drugs consumed willingly in the knowledge that intoxication could result. In some circumstances, extreme intoxication can result in a state of automatism. The law does not allow automatism to be a defence when it comes about as a result of voluntary intoxication. But if a person entered into a state of automatism as a result of having been fed an intoxicating substance unknowingly, the defence of automatism could be available to him or her.

Voters List: ᓂᕈᐊᕈᓐᓇᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᑎᖏᑦ: niruarunnaqtuq atingit: Liste électorale

The list, in each voting district, of people eligible to vote in federal and territorial elections. It is significant when there are jury trials, because it is from this list that the jury panel is taken.

W

To dispense with the necessity of doing something. Often, in court, one may hear a lawyer waiving the reading of the charge, or waiving the irregularity of something being done in his or her client's absence. What he or she is saying is that the court need not bother to read the charge or wait until his or her client gets to court and he or she will not complain about it later.

These are the words used in the offence of criminal negligence, Criminal Code, 1996, section 219, which states: "Everyone is criminally negligent who in doing anything, or in omitting to do anything that it is his or her duty to do, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons." The words wanton and reckless are separated by an or rather than an and and this implies that they mean different things. In fact, the courts have said that to be found guilty of this offence, an accused's conduct has to be wanton or reckless, but not necessarily both, which means that the courts do think there is a distinction, although it is difficult to understand just what it is. Mr. Justice Cory of the Supreme Court of Canada said, in the case of R. v. Waite when he or she was a member of the Ontario Court of Appeal: "The word "wanton" means "heedlessly." "Wanton," coupled as it is with the word "reckless," must mean heedless of the consequences or without regard for the consequences." Both words describe a
high degree of negligence. It is important to distinguish between the negligence which gives rise to a civil case and the negligence which involves criminal liability. Criminal negligence involves negligence of such a high degree of fault that a person can be said to have committed a crime.

There are situations in which an arrest can be made without a warrant. There are even situations in which an ordinary citizen, not a peace officer, can make an arrest. But, in a number of less serious offences, a peace officer is not supposed to make an arrest unless he or she has a written authorization from a justice of the peace to make the arrest. This written authorization is called a warrant for arrest.

The correct term is firearms prohibition. Many offences involving violence or the use of firearms require or allow the judge who finds an accused guilty of such an offence to make an order prohibiting the accused from possessing firearms. Depending on the circumstances, such a prohibition can be for varying periods of time. In many circumstances, there is a minimum period of 10 years. For subsequent offences, a person can be prohibited for life. Criminal Code, 1996, section 100.

An expression that means to consider the evidence carefully. A judge or a jury is expected to do this before making a decision.

Willful Blind: ᖃᐅᔨᙱᙳᐊᕐᓂᖅ: qaujinnginnguarniq: Aveuglement volontaire

Willful blindness is an important idea in criminal law. It is an offence to possess property that has been stolen if the person knows that it has been stolen. For example, if a person sells me a boat for a very low price, I may well have a suspicion that he stole it, and that is why I am being offered such an attractive price. Because I want the boat for a low price, I take care not to ask too many questions so that I can persuade myself that I have done nothing wrong. But the law will not let me get away with that. The law will say that I was willfully blind, which has the same effect as if I knew the boat was stolen, and I will be found guilty of a criminal offence.

A document in which a person states how he or she wishes his or her property to be distributed and otherwise dealt with after his or her death. The author of a will is called a testator/testatrix. A large body of law has developed concerning wills. This is because, after a person dies, there is often competition among his or her heirs and those who think they should be heirs for the property left at death. When the validity of a will is contested, it is examined by a court, and a trial may take place. If the will is found to be valid, the court is said to grant probate.

Charges are brought to the court by the Crown. It frequently happens that, upon closer scrutiny, the Crown decides that charges should not proceed. Consequently, the decision to withdraw charges is made. Where the Crown withdraws charges before a plea is entered, no explanation to the court is necessary. Sometimes, when the Crown decides to withdraw charges after a plea has been entered, the court wants to know why.

The Workers' Compensation Act is territorial legislation that applies to all employers and workers, with the exception of certain self-employed and business people, in the Northwest Territories. The purpose of the legislation is to provide compensation to workers who suffer personal injury as a result of accidents suffered on the job. The Workers' Compensation Board is a board, of not fewer than five members appointed by the government, that has the power and the responsibility to inquire into claims made under the Act and decide whether compensation should be paid, and in what amount. The Act provides for all employers to contribute to a fund called the Accident Fund, from which compensation payments are taken. Workers' Compensation Act, R.S.N.W.T., 1988, c. W-6.

Wound: ᐃᑭᖅ: ikiq: Blessure

An injury done by stabbing or cutting or shooting, etc. The Alberta Court of Appeal has said that a breaking of the skin is necessary to constitute wounding. The word is used in two criminal offences, discharging a firearm with intent to wound and aggravated assault. One would usually understand wound as more serious than simple bodily harm. A bad bruising might be bodily harm but not wounding. Criminal Code, 1996, sections 244, 268.

A court document that informs the sheriff, land titles office, or other official parties of a court judgment saying that a debt is owed. The creditor needs a writ of execution in order to have a legal right to collect.

An order of a superior court to a lower court or other tribunal or public official prohibiting that body from doing something which the superior court has said it does not have the jurisdiction to do. See Prohibition.

A contract which is in written form and not merely oral or spoken. To be enforceable by the courts, some contracts, such as those dealing with land transfers, must be in writing. A written contract, even when the law does not require it, is often preferable to an oral contract because it is much easier to prove.

Murder may be reduced to manslaughter where there has been provocation. In the section of the Criminal Code which says this, it is stated: "A wrongful act or insult that is of such a nature as to be sufficient to deprive an ordinary person of the power of self-control is provocation for the purposes of this section if the accused acted on it on the sudden and before there was time for his or her passions to cool." What is a wrongful act or an insult of this nature will always depend on the facts of the particular case. Criminal Code, 1996, section 232.

To be fired from a job for a reason that the law does not recognize to be a good reason. Where the employment relationship is not governed by special legislation or a union contract, it is governed by the common law. The common law recognizes a number of situations where dismissal is just, such as where an employee is stealing. An employee in such a situation can be fired without notice. The common law's remedy for wrongful dismissal is not to order that the fired person get his or her job back, but to award damages. An employer can always get rid of an employee, but he or she has to give the employee notice or, if he or she doesn't want the employee around anymore, the amount of wages the employee would have received had he or she served out the notice period. The general rule is that an employee is entitled to one month's notice for each year worked. Thus, an employee who has worked for the employer for three years would normally be entitled to at least three months' wages.

The Canadian law that governs the manner in which young offenders are to be treated by the courts. There is also a territorial law called the Young Offenders Act which governs the manner in which young people are to be treated by the courts for offences against territorial legislation. The philosophy of the young offenders legislation is that young offenders should be bear responsibility for criminal behaviour but should not always be punished or otherwise dealt with in the same way as adults. There tends to be more emphasis on rehabilitation where young people are concerned than is the case with adults.

The court that judges young persons charged with offences. This is usually the same court as the Territorial Court but when it is dealing with young persons it governs itself according to the Young Offenders Act. Justices of the peace do not have the power to judge young persons except for show cause hearings.

Under the Young Offenders Act, it is possible for the Crown to decide that a young person who has committed an offence be dealt with by alternative measures rather than in court. A Youth Justice Committee is a committee drawn from the community which deals with the young person against whom the Crown has decided to proceed by alternative measures. The advantages for the young person are that he or she does not get a criminal record or have to go to court.